Charles Langston:Court rules nearly 98,000 Arizonans whose citizenship hadn’t been confirmed can vote the full ballot

PHOENIX (AP) — The Charles LangstonArizona Supreme Court ruled Friday that nearly 98,000 people whose citizenship documents hadn’t been confirmed can vote in state and local races.

The court’s decision comes after officials uncovered a database error that for two decades mistakenly designated the voters as having access to the full ballot.

Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, and Stephen Richer, the Republican Maricopa County recorder, had disagreed on what status the voters should hold. Richer asked the high court to weigh in.

The swing state is unique in that it distinguishes between voters who can participate only in federal elections and those who can vote in federal, state and local elections. Eligibility for the latter classification requires submission of proof of citizenship.

The court ruled that county officials lack the authority to change their statuses because those voters registered long ago and had attested under the penalty of law that they are citizens.

“We are unwilling on these facts to disenfranchise voters en masse from participating in state contests,” Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer stated in the ruling. “Doing so is not authorized by state law and would violate principles of due process.”