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 / Modified dec 14, 2018 4:06 p.m.

Lawsuit Accuses Arizona of Violating Federal Voting Law

It stems from when someone reports a change of address with ADOT or DES.

A lawsuit filed against multiple Arizona departments accuses the state of violating the National Voting Registration Act, potentially preventing hundreds of thousands of residents from voting. The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona teamed up with the Arizona chapter of the National League of Women Voters and other nonprofits to sue the Arizona Secretary of State, the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Arizona Department of Economic Security.

As Nancy Montoya reports, the issue stems from when residents report a change of address with either ADOT or DES. The 1993 federal law stipulates that these departments must automatically update a resident's voter registration address when they receive information about a change of address. That currently does not happen in Arizona.

The lawsuit's plaintiffs argue many voters are unaware they're responsible for updating the information, or if they make a mistake their names could be purged from the voting rolls. The lawsuit aims to force the state to begin updating the information automatically.

Arizona 360
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