A judge in Arizona ordered its secretary of state to release a list of registered voters who due to a glitch may not have provided proof of citizenship that is required by state law, a court filing showed on Thursday.
A conservative organization had sued Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, earlier this month after his office declined a public records request.
A computer glitch had caused thousands in Arizona to be registered to vote without providing proof of citizenship. The secretary of state’s office had said earlier those on the list may face threats or harassment if their names were released.
The number of individuals affected by this issue is about 218,000, according to America First Legal, which filed the lawsuit.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Arizona is one of the seven battleground states in a tight race, according to polls, between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump for Tuesday’s U.S. elections.
It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in U.S. federal elections and state and private reviews have turned up very few instances of them doing so. Still, Trump and his allies have argued that large numbers of noncitizens could vote.