PHOENIX — An independent, bipartisan audit will start immediately to identify data coding policies and procedures that could have allowed noncitizens to register to vote in Arizona.
On Friday, Governor Katie Hobbs announced Coconino County Recorder Patty Hansen and former Yuma County Recorder Robyn Stallworth-Pouquette will lead the audit team looking at data from Arizona's Motor Vehicle Division. The team will issue a report by the end of January to ensure election officials have what's needed from MVD to meet Arizona's voter registration requirements.
More than 200,000 registered voters are affected by the coding problems, which came to light in September.
Arizona law requires registrants to provide documentary proof of citizenship to register as “full-ballot voters,” eligible to vote in federal, state, and local races. Those who don't provide proof can only vote in federal races. The law also specifies a driver's license issued after October 1, 1996, can be a valid proof of citizenship.
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About 200,000 registered voters who got their license or ID prior to 1996, later received a duplicate, renewal, or reinstated license, according to state officials. Their data was coded based on the date of the most recent license, which erroneously would have indicated they had provided the required proof of citizenship.
“As soon as I became aware of the long-standing data incompatibility issue, I directed MVD to work swiftly in coordination with election officials to correct the issue,” said Hobbs. “And now, out of an abundance of caution, it’s important that we have a thorough audit of all MVD policies and procedures related to voter registration to ensure MVD is doing everything they can to support our election officials."
A spokesperson for MVD tells ABC15 that some changes have already occurred to ensure accurate data and information sharing with election officials. Actions include:
- MVD worked to provide a dataset to the Secretary of State’s Office including individuals with an active credential who had a pre-Oct. 1, 1996 ID and a duplicate.
- MVD identified a decades-old policy that allowed licenses issued after 1996, including duplicates issued after 1996, to be accepted as proof of authorized presence for reinstatements and renewals. As a result, MVD provided a second dataset to the Secretary of State’s Office that included all individuals with an active credential who had a pre-Oct. 1, 1996 ID and a subsequent renewal or reinstatement.
- MVD modified its policy to require applicants who received their ID before 1996 to provide documents to verify their authorized presence for all renewal and reinstatement transactions.
- MVD implemented an additional code in its system to flag pre-1996 credentials, to ensure that election officials can identify the original ID issuance date moving forward.
