Watchdog Group Investigates Suspect Arizona Voter Registrations

An election integrity watchdog group’s investigation has found numerous Arizona voters whose registered address on the voter rolls belongs to a commercial establishment.

Published on Tuesday, the documentary follows the Public Interest Legal Foundation’s (PILF) Lauren Bis as she visits bars, gas stations, and other venues listed as the residence for individuals on Arizona’s voter rolls. State law mandates that voter registration forms contain a “registrant’s actual place of residence,” which is to include their “street name and number, apartment or space number, city or town and zip code, or such description of the location of the residence that it can be readily ascertained or identified.”

These registration forms specifically prohibit individuals from listing a Post Office box or business address as their registered address.

“The Public Interest Legal Foundation has found and inspected hundreds of commercial addresses where people are registered to vote from in Arizona,” Bis said. “Some of these addresses include an abortion clinic, gas stations, liquor stores, vacant lots, a high school, a smoke shop, gun shop, fast food chain, strip clubs, golf courses, and bars.”

One instance highlighted in the documentary shows Bis purchasing a bottle of water at what appears to be a gas station. While paying, she asked the cashier if she knows whether “Josie [last name redacted] lives here.” After asking Bis to repeat the name, the cashier looking baffled, shook her head.

Are you asking if “she works here?” the cashier probed, to which Bis replied, “Lives here. This is the address I had for her.”

“This is a business,” the cashier said.

“PILF has been notifying Arizona election officials about problems on the Arizona voter rolls since before the 2020 election. Four years later, and the state has done nothing to fix the problem,” Bis told viewers.

Another questionable registration documented in the investigation belongs to a man with the first name James whose listed address is reportedly linked to a bar. Upon venturing into the establishment, Bis asked a waitress about whether James lives there.

“Lives here? No,” the server said. “He does work here. But I don’t think he’s here right now.”

[READNEXT:[READNEXT:William Sitton Doesn’t Live Here: Tracking Nevada’s Dirty Voter Rolls]

Unfortunately for Arizonans concerned about the integrity of the state’s elections, voter roll issues have become a prominent problem in recent years.

Last month, Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes revealed officials had discovered approximately 98,000 registrants on the voter rolls lacking documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC). Arizonans must show DPOC when registering via state registration form in order to cast ballots in state and local races. Those who do not provide DPOC when registering may do so as a “federal-only” voter and cast ballots in federal races.

An additional 120,000 registrants lacking DPOC were reportedly discovered weeks later, bringing the total of such voters to 218,000. Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona (SCFA), a conservative grassroots organization, has since filed a lawsuit against Fontes and the Arizona Department of State, alleging they “are stonewalling and have unlawfully refused to fulfill” its request for the list of these individuals.

In court proceedings on Tuesday, Fontes’ attorney Craig Morgan reportedly argued that releasing the list of names before the November election would, as the Arizona Daily Star described, “lead to voter intimidation.”

“Morgan said he does not doubt that the final list of names — and he said there really isn’t a fully vetted list yet — will be a public record,” the outlet reported. “But Morgan said there are reasons not to force Fontes to produce the list right now, before the election, contending Strong Communities ‘or people affiliated with it’ will abuse it.”

America First Legal (AFL) Attorney James Rogers, whose organization is representing SCFA in the case, rejected such an argument, saying Morgan’s “insinuation” is baseless.

“Our client does voter outreach all the time,” Rogers said. “Never been a single complaint … Our client and none of our client’s volunteers have ever done the kind of things that he’s talking, as far as we’re aware.”

The AFL attorney further contended that Fontes does not have a “right to hold that list to tell us if there’s a problem and not let anyone see it or do any outside vetting on it.”

Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood