Maricopa County Voter Eligibility Under Scrutiny Amid Database Concerns
In a significant development concerning voter registration in Maricopa County, Recorder Justin Heap is poised to declare several hundred voters ineligible based on federal database findings. This move, however, raises questions about the accuracy of the database and the adherence to legal protocols.
Last month, Heap’s office announced the identification of 137 non-citizens registered to vote, following a check using the Department of Homeland Security’s SAVE database. This figure has since increased to 208, according to Heap’s statement to KTAR.
Further examination revealed that 60 of these individuals had participated in past elections, prompting Heap to consider referring these cases to law enforcement in the coming week.
Concerns over the reliability of the SAVE database were highlighted by Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in a letter to Heap. Fontes referenced ProPublica’s report on the database’s history of mistakenly flagging U.S. citizens as non-citizens.
A NPR investigation noted that the SAVE database, revamped during the Trump Administration, was originally intended for verifying immigration status for government programs but is now used by states to check voter citizenship status.
The tool’s use in Texas flagged 0.015% of voters, including a naturalized citizen from South Africa. In Maricopa County, it identified about 0.005% of the eligible voters after reviewing 61,000 voters due to a 2024 communication flaw between the state’s election systems and the Department of Transportation.
Fontes has urged Heap to adhere to state laws requiring election officials to allow individuals to prove their eligibility before removing them from voter rolls. Heap assured in his response that the process is being managed “carefully, thoroughly, and in full compliance with Arizona law.”
The Process
As reported by Votebeat, Heap clarified that no voter registrations have been canceled yet. Instead, individuals flagged will be moved to a “non-eligible” category, requiring them to submit proof of citizenship to vote in upcoming elections.
Heap explained that those affected will be contacted with information on necessary documentation. “Absent such documentation, the registrations will remain in an ineligible status through the November 2026 election,” Heap stated. Failure to provide proof by this deadline will result in moving these records to a “not registered” status, necessitating re-registration with citizenship proof for future elections.
Some election experts have expressed concerns that Heap might not be following the correct procedures for resolving registration issues flagged by the SAVE database. Instead, he could be applying rules meant for new voter registration applications. The Recorder’s Office has not commented further and redirected inquiries regarding investigations to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
