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FACT BRIEF

Are there hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants on Arizona’s voter rolls?

By Carmela Guaglianone
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NO

There is no evidence to suggest that thousands of undocumented immigrants are registered on Arizona’s voter rolls. Non-citizen voting has been found to be exceedingly rare.

The estimate was sourced from a legal complaint filed in federal court by a coalition of conservative groups and individuals, which accused Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes of inadequate voter roll maintenance. The estimate does not refer to undocumented immigrants on voter rolls, but rather voters who have moved or died but remain registered. Arizona’s Attorney General has filed a motion to dismiss the legal complaint, stating there is not sufficient evidence to back up the claim.

It is not uncommon for states to have surplus voters on their rolls. Federal law requires that states follow a sometimes years-long process to remove voters who have moved elsewhere or died.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
DocumentCloud United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Complaint against SOS Fontes
Democracy Docket United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Arizona Attorney General’s Motion to Dismiss
National Conference of State Legislatures Voter Registration List Maintenance
Brennan Center for Justice Attacks on Voter Rolls and How to Protect Them
US Department of Justice The National Voter Registration Act Of 1993 (NVRA)
U.S. Government Publishing Office Public Law 107–252 107th Congress, Help America Vote Act of 2002
ERIC, Inc. About
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Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.