Illegal immigrants on voter rolls spurs watchdog group to sue Maricopa County

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Conservative watchdog group America First Legal is suing an Arizona county for allegedly refusing to remove thousands of illegal immigrants from its voter rolls. 

"America First Legal is leading the charge to keep illegal aliens from voting in 2024," AFL president Stephen Miller said in a statement. "Maricopa County, in direct violation of state law, is refusing to remove illegal alien voters from the rolls. We are taking decisive action: suing Maricopa County for unlawfully permitting illegal aliens and foreign citizens to interfere in the 2024 election."

The lawsuit, filed Monday night, which was on behalf of the nonprofit group Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona and Yvonne Cahill, a registered voter and naturalized citizen in Maricopa County, comes as AFL gave Maricopa County one week to address the alleged illegal immigrants on the voter roll.

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A voter casts a ballot at a secure ballot drop box at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix, Nov. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

In response, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, through his attorney, stated that he would not take any action and claimed his offfice is already complying with the law.

The lawsuit claims that, as of April 2024, over 35,000 registered voters in Arizona had not provided proof of citizenship, limiting them to voting only in federal races, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.

The lawsuit alleges that Arizona's voter registration system creates a split between those who provide proof of citizenship (DPOC) and those who do not. Under Arizona law, DPOC is required for state and local elections, but the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the federal voter registration form does not mandate this requirement. Consequently, Arizona has a bifurcated system where voters who use the federal form – known as Federal-Only Voters – are restricted to voting only in federal elections.

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A temporary election worker was caught on footage allegedly taking security equipment from the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Arizona on June 20, 2024. (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)

"The number of Federal-Only Voters in Maricopa County increases each month," the lawsuit alleges.

In 2022, Arizona enacted two laws imposing stricter voter list maintenance requirements for Federal-Only Voters. These laws mandate that county recorders conduct monthly maintenance to verify citizenship and check newly registered Federal-Only Voters within ten days. 

"Recorder Richer has failed to perform this required list maintenance," the lawsuit claimed.

"The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office prioritizes and prides itself on maintaining accurate, up-to-date voter rolls," a spokesperson for the county registrar told Fox News Digital in a statement.

"Under Recorder Stephen Richer, voter list maintenance has remained a top priority, removing more than 400,000 voters from the rolls since January 2021. As an administrative office, we will continue to follow the letter of the law," the spokesperson said. 

Since the 2020 election, Maricopa County has been at the center of controversies over election integrity and procedures. The county, a key battleground, has faced claims of widespread voter fraud, including allegations of improper ballot handling and voting machine malfunctions. However, most of these claims have been dismissed by courts and election officials.

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Bill Gates, chairman of the Maricopa Board of Supervisors, speaks about voting machine malfunctions at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center on Nov. 8, 2022, in Phoenix, Arizona. (John Moore/Getty Images)

In June, a temporary election worker in Maricopa County was captured on surveillance video allegedly stealing a "digital magnetic key" from a tabulation center, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital. He had been arrested previously for allegedly removing a total of $1,800 in cash from the register while working as a cashier at a nearby grocery store, according to the documents.

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Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.