Arizona GOP could sue over military and overseas voter registrations

• Questions over UOCAVA voters' eligibility could be used to challenge, or sow doubt in, the results of the presidential election.

State of play: Arizona Republican Party chair Gina Swoboda and RNC attorney Kevin Cline sent a letter last week to all 15 county recorders asking how they confirm the identity of people who register to vote under UOCAVA, a federal law used for military members and citizens living abroad to cast absentee ballots in federal elections.

• The AZGOP and RNC also asked for confirmation that counties reject UOCAVA registrations that don't include proof of citizenship.
• They wrote they'll "pursue all legal avenues to ensure" election laws are "administered correctly."

What's next: Swoboda said the AZGOP and RNC will know by Wednesday whether they'll go to court over the UOCAVA questions.

• Swoboda told Axios the responses she's received indicate that counties have different approaches to the UOCAVA issues, which she believes would be a constitutional equal protection violation.
• Attorneys are still sorting through several issues and Swoboda didn't know yet whether the state party or RNC will take legal action, but "there will be something, and it's imminent."
• She said she doesn't believe it's too late to challenge the ballots of individual UOCAVA voters if they're found ineligible.

The other side: The Maricopa County Recorder's Office continues to process UOCAVA forms known as the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) and Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot forms as it attempts to verify registrants' identities and citizenship, spokesperson Sierra Ciaramella tells Axios, but she declined to comment further due to the threat of litigation.

• The Pima County Recorder's Office registers people as federal-only voters if they submit an FPCA without proof of citizenship, spokesperson Michael Truelsen tells Axios.
• Aaron Thacker, a spokesperson for Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, tells Axios that people who register with the FPCA but don't provide proof of citizenship are eligible to be federal-only voters, and the Secretary of State's Office provides that guidance to counties.
• He noted the issue isn't covered by the Election Procedures Manual for this election because it was issued before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the law two months ago.

Between the lines: Coconino County Recorder Patty Hansen said her office doesn't have a problem with proof of citizenship for FPCA registrants because most have passports or an Arizona driver's license.

• But if a registrant doesn't provide proof of citizenship, "we contact them and they send it to us."

Zoom out: Republicans have filed recent lawsuits over military and overseas voter registration in Pennsylvania, Michigan and North Carolina.

Catch up quick: Arizona is one of the only states in the U.S. that requires proof of citizenship to register to vote.

• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that Arizona couldn't reject voter registrations on federal forms if they didn't include proof of citizenship, but it could limit those voters to casting ballots only for federal offices.
• In 2022, then-Gov. Doug Ducey signed a law barring the state from accepting registrations without proof of citizenship except those using forms provided by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC).
• The high court upheld that provision in August.

Zoom in: The FPCA is provided through the U.S. Department of Defense's Federal Voting Assistance Program.

• The FPCA has a field for applicants to put their driver's license number, which can be used as proof of citizenship in Arizona.

Yes, but: States are legally obligated to accept the FPCA, just as they must accept the EAC forms, says Tammy Patrick, CEO of The Election Center, a nonprofit also known as the National Association of Election Officials, and former head of federal compliance at the Maricopa County Elections Department.

• "I'm not an attorney, but it seems to me that state law cannot usurp federal law," she tells Axios.