Judge Blocks Citizenship Checks for 42,000 Arizona Voters Before Election

The ruling comes after a lawsuit sought to enforce voter citizenship verification too close to the November 5 election.

U.S. District Judge Krissa Lanham ruled against requiring Arizona counties to verify the citizenship of voters registered only for federal elections.
The lawsuit, filed by an Arizona voter and the Strong Communities Foundation, claimed counties were not complying with a 2022 law on voter registration cross-checks.
Judge Lanham stated that plaintiffs lacked legal standing and that the request was impractical so close to the election.
America First Legal, representing the plaintiffs, plans to appeal the decision, aiming to ensure noncitizens are removed from voter rolls.
A separate database error had mistakenly allowed nearly 218,000 voters access to full ballots, but they remain eligible to vote according to state officials.