Arizona official seeks probe after voter data posted online

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FILE -In this Nov. 4, 2020, file photo Maricopa County elections officials count ballots at the Maricopa County Recorder's Office in Phoenix. Eight years after carving the heart out of a landmark voting rights law, the Supreme Court is looking at putting new limits on efforts to combat racial discrimination in voting. The justices are taking up a case about Arizona restrictions on ballot collection and another policy that penalizes voters who cast ballots in the wrong precinct. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer is asking Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich to investigate after voter registration records were posted online.

Voter registration records known as the “voter file” are available to the public, but it’s a felony to publish the information on the Internet. The voter file includes the name, address, and party affiliation of registered voters, along with some phone numbers. It shows whether the person has voted in recent elections but not the candidates and issues they supported.

“It appears that in this case, information from a public records request may have been posted in violation of state law,” Richer said in a statement Thursday. “I trust the Attorney General will look into this and take any necessary action.”

Richer did not name the group responsible for the alleged violation, but an expansive list of voters remained accessible Thursday afternoon on a website posting podcasts, articles, and other materials in support of the Republican Party.

Richer and Brnovich are both Republicans.

Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.