Yuma County asking for citizenship proof for voters affected by statewide system glitch

YUMA (AZFamily) — The Yuma County Recorder office is requesting that some residents provide proof of citizenship due to a system error that occurred two decades ago.

A coding error in Arizona’s voter registration database affected 200,000 voters across the state, including 3,800 people in Yuma.

County Recorder David Lara said the glitch affected Arizona residents who got a driver’s license before 1996 and registered to vote after 2004 when the state began requiring proof of citizenship on voter registration forms.

The error led to these voters never being asked for citizenship proof.

“Some people are angry, some people are confused , once we explain it to them they actually understand,” said Lara.

Lara said those impacted can either email their documents or take them to the election office.

However a birth certificate may no longer be valid putting the recorder office in a bind.

That’s because President Trump’s latest executive order requiring voters to prove their citizenship in federal elections does not list a birth certificate as “documentary proof” of citizenship, but passports or government issued Real IDs are okay.

While the president’s order is expected to be met with legal challenges, Lara said he’s in favor of it.

“It’s the confidence of the voter. If we don’t have the confidence where people don’t feel safe and secure, that their vote is going to count and it’s a legit legal vote then you have people that just want to drop out and they don’t vote and won’t participate in the future,” said Lara.

Lara hopes that most affected voters will resolve the issue by the next special primary election in July.

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