Arizona’s election chief must disclose 218K names of voters lacking citizenship proof

Adrian Fontes, Arizona’s Democrat Secretary of State, was ordered to release the names of 218K voters lacking documentary proof of citizenship. Fontes argued that such release would violate privacy and confidentiality towards the voters, and also be detrimental to Arizona’s interests. However, Judge Scott Blaney, Maricopa County Superior Court, ordered Fontes to hand over this information to Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona.

From The Federalist:

In his Thursday decision, Blaney noted how Fontes “provided inconsistent testimony” regarding his initial claim in court that his office (AZSOS) only possessed the list of 98,000 registrants first reported, and not the complete list of 218,000 affected individuals. According to the judge, the Democrat secretary claimed his “press release’s reference to a complete list was because of hasty drafting and ‘unartful’ language,” and that his team “was not in possession of a list and that no such list of Affected Voters existed for the additional approximately 118,000 people who may not have shown sufficient DPOC.”

“Secretary Fontes maintained that MVD never provided him with a list that contains any personally identifiable information of the additional 118,000 Affected Voters,” Blaney wrote. “However, Secretary Fontes provided inconsistent testimony on this point, initially denying that he even possessed a list of initial 98,000 voters, and then changing his testimony after returning from lunch. His testimony suggested that he lacked detailed familiarity with the AZSOS’s efforts with regard to the issue and with regard to the records in the possession of the AZSOS related to the 218,000 individuals.”

During this week’s court hearing, Fontes and his office’s “expert witness” argued that releasing the list of 218,000 registrants in question would open these individuals up to what Blaney described as a “risk of harassment and violence.” As noted by the Maricopa judge, however, both parties “failed to identify any specific threats of violence or harassment from EZAZ.org,” noting that “the only evidence they presented was about generalized threats of elected-related political violence, most against elected officials.”

“Secretary Fontes argued that providing the list of 218,000 Affected Voters would necessarily lead to violence – even sure death – of one or more Affected Voters, even if this Court specifically ordered that EZAZ.org could only distribute the list of Affected Voters to county recorders, leadership for the Arizona state legislature, and the Arizona Senate and House Elections Committee,” Blaney wrote. “The Secretary’s claims were not credible and not supported by evidence.”

Additional Reading:

Fleetwood, S. (2024, November 1). Judge orders Arizona’s elections chief to release the names of 218K voters lacking citizenship proof. The Federalist. Link.

Category: 2024 Election, Society