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Judge: Arizona must release list of voters affected by registration 'glitch'

A judge gave the state until Nov. 4 to release an original list of the estimated 98,000 voters affected by a coding glitch.

MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. — The Arizona Secretary of State's Office has been ordered by a judge to release a list of the thousands of voters affected by a "glitch" in the state's registration system. 

On Thursday, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge gave the secretary until Nov. 4 to release an original list of the estimated 98,000 voters affected by a coding glitch in the state's databases. 

Earlier this year, state officials discovered that for the last 20 years there was an error in Arizona's record-keeping system when it comes to verifying a voter's citizenship. The issue affected a specific group of residents who had been issued a driver's license before October 1996 and registered to vote after February 2004.

Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona filed a public records request last month for a complete list of the voters affected by the mishap. The secretary of state said this request could not be completed before Election Day, citing concerns for the safety of voters and the list's accuracy.

Judge Scott Blaney ruled Secretary Adrian Fontes had "not established by a preponderance of the evidence that production of the records would violate rights of privacy or confidentiality."

The secretary's office was further ordered by the judge to release datasets or communications generated in relation to the list of affected voters.

The judge ordered the plaintiff to not contact any of the affected voters and they may not release any personally identifiable information of any affected voters to any other third parties before Nov. 6.

The Arizona Supreme Court has previously ruled that voters affected by the registration issue could still complete a full ballot in the 2024 election.

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer has said that "the vast majority of these voters are United States citizens who can provide documented proof of citizenship."

Everyone who registers to vote in Arizona must swear under the penalty of perjury that they are a U.S. citizen.

RELATED: Number of Arizonans impacted by coding glitch more than doubles. 218,000 people identified as investigation by secretary of state continues.

RELATED: Arizona voters affected by data glitch more than double to 218,000, but they won't lose voting rights, Secretary of State Fontes says

*Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast.*

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