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UpdateArizonaWednesday, October 21, 2026

Arizona AG threatened to sue Maricopa recorder over 24 voters flagged

This update covers a dispute over eligible voters erroneously marked as ineligible ahead of the November 3 election.

Reporting by
KJZZ Politics
“Mayes: Maricopa County recorder erroneously flagged 24 U.S. citizens as 'not eligible' to vote”, Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Read the full story
What happened

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes threatened to sue Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap for failing to restore voting rights to 24 U.S. citizens he erroneously flagged as ineligible using the federal SAVE database. Heap used the database to identify 207 suspected noncitizens. County Attorney Rachel Mitchell found only eight of 60 who had cast ballots were actually noncitizens, with the remaining 52 confirmed eligible.1

Twenty-four of those 52 remain in a noncitizen category ahead of the November 3 election. The Attorney General's Office said in an October 19 letter it will sue if Heap does not act swiftly to restore their active voting rights.1

24
U.S. citizens erroneously flagged as ineligible1
207
suspected noncitizens identified by Heap using SAVE database1
52 of 60
voters who had cast ballots and were confirmed eligible1
What it means in Arizona

What this means for the affected voters

Early voting runs from Wednesday October 7, 2026 until 7 p.m. on Friday October 30, 2026.2

Key dates in Arizona

Election Day in 6 days
  1. Mon, Oct 5 · passed
    Registration deadline
  2. Wed, Oct 7 · passed
    Early voting begins
  3. Fri, Oct 23 · passed
    Last day for mail ballot applications
  4. Tue, Nov 3 · 6 days
    Election Day; Mail ballots must arrive
  5. Thu, Nov 19 · 22 days
    County/Local certification
  6. Mon, Nov 23 · 26 days
    State certification

Every date in Arizona, and who certifies the election

More on this story
Arizona · Oct 22
Former Maricopa County recorder asked Supreme Court to drop voter ID case
Reporting by Law360
The answers behind this
Voter ID and proof of citizenshipVoting in Arizona, 2026Who certifies the election in Arizona, and by when?How are votes counted and certified in Arizona?

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Sources

  1. KJZZ Politics, https://kjzz.org/elections/2026-10-20/mayes-maricopa-county-recorder-erroneously-flagged-24-u-s-citizens-as-not-eligible-to-vote · Wednesday, October 21, 2026
  2. Vote.org, Arizona Election Center, https://www.vote.org/state/arizona/

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