By Howard Fischer
Mail | X: @azcapmedia

PHOENIX - The Arizona Republican Party has a legal right to challenge a 20-year-old law that allows some people who never have lived in the state to vote in elections, a judge has ruled.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Herrod said the GOP has a legitimate interest in ensuring that only those who meet the state constitutional definition of residency can cast ballots.

And he said that entitles the party to get a ruling on whether the Arizona Legislature acted illegally in giving those who never have set foot in the state the right to vote.

The order does not mean the 2005 statute is unconstitutional.

It does give attorney Kory Langhofer who represents
both the state party and the Republican National Committee, a chance to make his case in court.

What it also does is give Langhofer a chance to get some specific data from state and county election officials about exactly how many of those who have never lived in Arizona are, in fact, registered to vote and can affect elections here.

The federal Uniform Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act already allows Arizona residents - as well as residents of any other state - to continue to cast ballots while they are overseas.

This can involve those in the military, people traveling on business and students.

Their rights are not at issue.

But the federal law also allows lawmakers in each state to decide whether to extend those same voting rights to the children of those voters once they turn 18. That's what Arizona lawmakers did in 2005, with the measure being promoted by a GOP lawmaker and being approved unanimously.

It only became a legal issue this year when the Republican organizations questioned how that fits with the Arizona Constitution.
It says voting is reserved for those who "have resided in the state for a period of time preceding such election as prescribed by law.''

Attorneys for the state told Herrod lawmakers did meet that requirement: They decided that the required residency period for the children of overseas voters was zero. Herrod, who questioned whether that was "illogical,'' concluded that there was enough of a question about the legality of that interpretation to allow the Republicans to present their case.

Herrod, however, tossed out a parallel claim by Gina Swoboda who chairs the Arizona Republican Party. He said there is no legal basis to let her pursue her claim that having these allegedly illegal voters on the rolls diluted her legal vote.

No date has been set for future hearings.

One reason Republicans appear to have taken on this 20-year-old law - the one unanimously approved - is their claim that the law places GOP candidates at a competitive disadvantage.

In Maricopa County, Langhofer said, 51.3% of overseas voters are Democrat, with 18.2% registered Republican, 26.5% with no party affiliation, and 4% who are signed up with other parties.

By contrast, of the more than 2.6 million people registered to vote in the state's largest county, 35.5% are Republicans versus 28.2% Democrats.

On X, Bluesky, and Threads: @azcapmedia