PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes have sued Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, asking a judge to order him to restore the voter registrations of 25 U.S. citizens his office still lists as “not eligible,” ABC15 reported.
The 25 were among 60 voters the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office investigated after Heap flagged them as possible noncitizens. In late September, County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said 52 of the 60 were in fact citizens; the lawsuit says 22 were born in Arizona.
According to the suit, Heap’s office has updated the status of only 27 of the 52. Seventeen of the remaining voters are on the Active Early Voting List and should already have received mail ballots, and another is a military or overseas voter.
“Unless the 25 Affected Voters’ registration status is immediately restored, those voters will be denied their constitutional right to vote in the 2026 general election,” the lawsuit says. Mayes and Fontes want regular, non-provisional ballots issued to the voters.
Heap’s office did not respond to ABC15’s questions. In September he told the station his office would “clear that up” if investigators found any of the voters were citizens.
Sources: ABC15. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Mrs. Gemstone from USA / CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
