Queen Creek, Arizona — The U.S. Department of Justice has placed Arizona election officials on alert, warning this week that state workers who knowingly register or count ineligible voters could face criminal prosecution. The warning was sent Tuesday to Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and mirrored across more than a dozen other states.
Signed by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, the letter cites federal statutes including the National Voter Registration Act and the Civil Rights Act. It asks the state to explain within five days how it complies with federal election law, and says any election officer who knowingly keeps noncitizens on voter rolls or accepts their ballots could be subject to criminal liability.
> Arizona election officials have always worked to ensure that only eligible citizens are registered to vote, and we will continue following Arizona law — not directions that come from political rhetoric or intimidation.
Fontes rejected the warning as politically motivated, describing it as an insult to election workers across the state. Arizona has required proof of citizenship to register to vote since 2004, after voters approved a ballot measure mandating the check.
