Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has issued a stark warning that former President Donald Trump is attempting to amass a centralized database of all American citizens' personal information, a move he likens to creating an "apartheid" system in the United States. In an interview from his Phoenix office, Fontes expressed fears that the Trump administration's aggressive efforts to obtain voter files from 30 states, including Arizona, are part of a broader strategy to compile a "master list" that could be used to target political opponents.
Fontes Draws Parallels to Authoritarian Regimes
Fontes, a Democrat, argued that such a database would allow the president to regulate key aspects of his adversaries' lives, from "shutting off their bank accounts" to denying them access to healthcare. "This is Donald Trump trying to pick his own voters," he said, comparing the tactic to practices in North Korea. The warning comes amid a legal battle over voter data requests from the Department of Justice (DOJ), which has sued states refusing to comply.
Legal Victory for Arizona
In a significant development, a federal judge dismissed the DOJ's lawsuit against Arizona on Tuesday. Judge Susan Brnovich, a Trump appointee, ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to the state's voter rolls under federal law. This marks the sixth federal court ruling against the administration's data demands, following similar decisions in California, Oregon, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Fontes, who faced legal action after refusing to hand over sensitive data on nearly 5 million voters, hailed the ruling as vindication.
"Arizona acted correctly in refusing this request, and today's ruling vindicates that decision," Fontes stated. The DOJ claims its requests aim to combat voter fraud and noncitizen voting, but Fontes dismissed this as a false narrative. "This doesn't have anything to do with non-citizens, because non-citizens don't vote. Every study shows that," he said.
Election Denial Conspiracies Persist in Arizona
Arizona has long been a focal point for Trump's election denial claims. In 2020, the state was at the center of a contentious audit by Cyber Ninjas, a private firm with no election experience, which ultimately confirmed Biden's win. Despite this, Trump allies continue to push unfounded fraud allegations. The state is now under at least three federal investigations into its election procedures.
Fontes also criticized the recent seizure of digital data from the Cyber Ninjas audit by the FBI, suggesting it may have violated state data-protection laws. He accused state Senate President Warren Petersen of cooperating with the FBI subpoena as a "political favor to Donald Trump."
Upcoming Re-Election Battle
Fontes faces a tough re-election campaign in November, likely against an election denialist. The two Republican candidates for secretary of state both have histories of challenging the 2020 election results. Alexander Kolodin was placed on probation for filing lawsuits filled with "gossip and innuendo," while Gina Swoboda claimed without evidence that over 1 million ineligible voters were on the rolls.
Despite these challenges, Fontes expressed cautious optimism about Democratic prospects but emphasized the need for vigilance. "We have to spend every single day from now until November focused on communicating as clearly as we can with every Arizona voter," he said. He noted two factors complicating the race: the absence of a U.S. Senate race in Arizona this year, which could reduce Democratic turnout, and the growing influence of rightwing group Turning Point USA, which has largely supplanted the old Republican party in the state.
"The stakes of this election are enormous, and every voter will be impacted by the outcome," Fontes concluded.
