Stricter immigration laws now on the books in Arizona that require elections officials to check for proof of citizenship have uncovered thousands of new registrants who don't qualify to vote.
According to the Arizona Daily Star, state election officials credit the citizenship requirement contained in Proposition 200, the illegal-immigration initiative passed last November, for screening out the illegal voters.
In Arizona's Prima County alone, elections officials have rejected 59 percent of all applicants in the last two weeks - or 423 of the 712 new registrants.
"We rejected none during the same period last year," when six times as many people were registering because of the presidential election, said Registrar of Voters Chris Roads. "There was nothing in the law that required a rejection" last year, he explained.
Most voter registration forms rejected by Prima County since April 20, when officials started keeping track, were submitted by new voters who provided no valid proof of citizenship whatsoever, Roads said.
Despite the fact that it's illegal for non-citizens to vote, the rejections had Arizona Democrats up in arms.
Paul Eckerstrom, chairman of the Prima County Democratic Party, complained that forcing Arizona voters to prove their citizenship is "anti-American and anti-democracy."
"It's just another obstacle for voters to deal with," Eckerstrom griped. "The whole idea behind this thing is to suppress voter turnout."
He said Proposition 200's "real intent" was to make it difficult for voters - especially those inclined to vote Democratic - to cast a ballot.
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