Arizona is stepping into the national spotlight once again—this time not because of tight races, but because of a sweeping change to how it maintains its voter rolls. The Grand Canyon State has agreed to team up with the Department of Homeland Security to comb through voter registration lists and verify the citizenship status of approximately 50,000 individuals currently eligible to vote in federal elections—but not in state or local ones.
This change didn’t come out of nowhere. It was the result of a lawsuit brought by America First Legal (AFL), which alleged that Arizona’s 15 counties were failing to comply with state law. That law requires local election officials to use every available federal tool to confirm that so-called “federal-only voters”—those who haven’t provided Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC)—are in fact U.S. citizens.
Arizona didn’t only have 50,000 Non-Citizens registered to vote!
Cause of America analyzed Arizona’s October 2024 voter data and found nearly 650k registrations voting from an address they are not living at!
285k of those left Arizona permanently and are living in a new state.… pic.twitter.com/0YnRmmwIvB
— Cause of America (@CauseAmerica) April 14, 2025
The lawsuit was dismissed following a settlement that is now reshaping Arizona’s voter verification protocols. As part of the agreement, all 15 counties pledged to start requesting DHS verification for voters lacking DPOC. Until now, counties like Coconino had reportedly made no such requests.
Here’s the significance: under current federal law, individuals can register to vote in federal elections without submitting documentary proof of citizenship—something that Arizona law doesn’t allow for state or local voting. That’s why there’s this separate class of 50,000 “federal-only” voters. By partnering with DHS, county officials can now determine who among them is, or isn’t, a citizen—and act accordingly.
This could mean two things. First, non-citizens who somehow landed on the rolls could be lawfully removed, tightening election security. Second, individuals who are citizens but previously lacked documentation could be verified and then fully enfranchised—gaining the right to vote in all elections, not just federal ones.
This legal action comes against the backdrop of Arizona’s electoral pendulum swings. After supporting Joe Biden in 2020, the state returned to Donald Trump in 2024, a shift that renewed scrutiny over voter integrity. While allegations of widespread fraud have not been substantiated, measures like these are being framed as proactive steps toward election transparency and rule-of-law enforcement.
Senior counsel James Rogers of AFL called the settlement “a great result for all Arizonans,” arguing it empowers counties to cleanse their rolls of ineligible voters while enhancing access for legitimate ones. And with election integrity becoming a centerpiece of political discourse, the move is likely to reverberate beyond Arizona’s borders.
‼️🇺🇸 ELECTION FRAUD:
The 50,000 illegal aliens that were just forcibly removed from Arizona’s voter rolls PROVE that democrats are using illegals to STEAL ELECTIONS.With anywhere from 15-30 MILLION illegals here, we MUST secure our elections!pic.twitter.com/ssD1qskqm5
— Diligent Denizen 🇺🇸 (@DiligentDenizen) April 13, 2025
While the DHS verification process unfolds, Arizona remains a bellwether state in more ways than one. Its handling of election law and enforcement could serve as a blueprint—or a battleground—for other states watching closely. In a time when trust in electoral processes is under the microscope, Arizona is making a bold move that could redefine voter roll management at a national level.
