The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that nearly 98,000 people whose citizenship has not been confirmed can vote in full force

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court ruled unanimously Friday that nearly 98,000 people whose citizenship documents have not been confirmed can vote in state and local elections, a landmark decision that could influence ballot measures and tight legislative races.

The court’s decision comes after officials discovered a bug in the database that for two decades had mistakenly designated voters as having access to the full ballot. Voters already had the right to vote in federal elections, including for president and Congress, regardless of the court’s ruling.

LEARN MORE: Supreme Court rejects Republican attempt to block more than 40,000 Arizona voters, but partially upholds proof-of-citizenship law

Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, and Stephen Richer, the Republican Maricopa County Clerk, disagreed over what status the electors should have. Richer asked the Supreme Court to weigh in, saying Fontes ignored state law by advising county officials to let the affected electors cast their ballots in their own right.

Fontes said that not allowing voters who believe they have met the voting requirements to access the full ballot would raise equal protection and due process issues.

The Republican-leaning Supreme Court agreed with Fontes, saying county officials had no authority to change voters’ status because they had registered long ago and had certified, under penalty, that they were citizens. The justices also said voters were not responsible for the database error and cited the short time remaining before the Nov. 5 general election.

“We are not prepared, based on these facts, to massively deprive voters of their right to participate in state elections,” Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer wrote in the decision.

Of the nearly 98,000 eligible voters, most reside in Maricopa County, where Phoenix is ​​located, and are longtime state residents ranging in age from 45 to 60. About 37 percent are registered Republicans, about 27 percent are registered Democrats and the rest are independents or affiliated with minor parties.

Arizona is unique in that it requires voters to prove their citizenship to participate in local and state elections. Voters can prove their citizenship by providing a driver’s license or tribal identification number, or by attaching a copy of a birth certificate, passport or naturalization documents.

Arizona considers driver’s licenses issued after October 1996 to be valid. However, a coding error in the system identified nearly 98,000 voters who obtained their licenses before 1996 (about 2.5 percent of all registered voters) as eligible to cast a complete ballot, state officials said.

The error between the state’s voter registration database and the Division of Motor Vehicles has since been resolved.

That number of votes could tip the balance in hotly contested races for the state legislature, where Republicans hold slim majorities in both chambers.

Voters also must decide on the constitutional right to abortion and a state law that would criminalize noncitizens entering Arizona through Mexico at any point other than a port of entry.

Although Richer and Fontes disagree on the status of electors, both welcomed the court’s decision.

“Thank God,” Richer said on the social media platform X. He told The Associated Press on Thursday that maintaining voter status would be administratively easier.

Fontes said in a news release that the decision was a “significant victory for those whose fundamental right to vote was challenged.” Election officials will contact voters who need to update their proof of citizenship after the election, he said.

John Groseclose, who was among the voters whose citizenship was in question, said he was relieved not to have to spend more time running around trying to resolve the issue.

Earlier this week, he said he waited an hour and a half at a motor vehicle office in Tempe only to find that the clerk who checked him out was unaware of the problem and didn’t know how to update his voter registration — even though he provided an official birth certificate and a new passport.

“I am glad that none of us are being deprived of our rights because of a mistake made by the MVD some 20 years ago,” Groseclose told the AP.