Arizona will provide voter information to White House as concerns swirl

Secretary of State Michele Reagan plans to provide President Donald Trump's commission on voter fraud with Arizona's voter-registration information, with certain exceptions.

But the request for information, which has already provoked pushback from elections officials in at least 27 other states, is not sitting well with the officials of Arizona's two largest counties, who run their own separate databases.

They are concerned because Kris Kobach, vice chairman of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, has told elections officials he will make the information public. They believe that is not allowed under Arizona law.

Reagan issued a statement on her website Friday saying her office will provide information that is available to anyone in the general public, as the law and a recent settlement in a registration-database lawsuit permit.

But she will not release certain data Kobach is requesting because state law forbids it. That includes the last four digits of a voter's Social Security number, his or her date of birth (only the year is permitted) and other identifying information such as the maiden name of the voter's mother.

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However, her spokesman later said Reagan was reacting to media reports on what Kobach and the commission are seeking. The office had not received the letter as of late Friday.

"Until we officially receive the letter, we don't have an official response," Matt Roberts said.

Recorders: Publicizing data not allowed

Adrian Fontes, who as Maricopa County recorder runs the largest voter-registration database in the state, said he won't release the data on 2.2 million voters until he receives guarantees from Kobach that the information won't be made public. He, too, had not yet received Kobach's letter.

"He is not entitled to the information for the purposes he says he is seeking it," Fontes said of Kobach. Arizona state law allows such information to be released for verifying signatures on candidates' petitions and filings, for elections purposes and for news gathering.

As Fontes sees it, Kobach doesn't meet those criteria. Fontes believes the unstated purpose is voter suppression.

Kobach, who also serves as Kansas secretary of state, has argued voter fraud is a problem in his home state, and in 2015 won legislative approval to prosecute cases of voter fraud. As of April, he had won eight convictions: seven involved people who voted in more than one state in the same election; the other one was a non-citizen who voted.

Trump created the commission to look into unsupported allegations of widespread voter fraud in the wake of last fall's presidential election. The president has contended, among other things, that millions of illegal immigrants voted and that Massachusetts residents traveled to New Hampshire to vote. Trump lost New Hampshire by 2,700 votes.

"Kris Kobach is trying to suppress votes by putting people's information out in the public sphere," said Fontes, a Democrat.

What citizen, he asked, would want to register to vote knowing their information, such as their address, full name, voting history from 2006 to present, and other data would be publicized?

Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez agreed with Fontes that Kobach's intent to publicize the registration data is not allowed.

"It does not qualify for someone to put up voter registration information on the internet so anyone on God's green earth can look at it," she said.

Rival launches petition 

By late Friday, Democrat Katie Hobbs was already making political hay out of the situation. Hobbs, who is running for secretary of state next year, launched an online petition to urge Reagan to not comply with what she called Trump's request.

The commission, led by Vice President Mike Pence, is looking at "vulnerabilities in voting systems that are used for federal elections," according to a White House statement. That could lead to fraudulent voter registration and improper voting, among other things, the statement reads.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.