Mary Jo PitzlArizona Republic
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Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier article gave incorrect information on Legislative District 15 candidate Michael Way's voting record in Arizona and North Carolina.
A GOP state lawmaker wants an investigation into a Republican legislative candidate whose voting record hopscotched between two states and registration in both states has raised questions of voting fraud.
Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, outlined three potential legal violations by candidate Michael Way in a Sept. 2 letter to Attorney General Kris Mayes.
Cook's request comes as a judge weighs a legal challenge to Way's eligibility to serve as a state representative in Legislative District 15. The head of the Freedom Caucus in the North Carolina House of Representatives has also requested an investigation in that state.
North Carolina Rep. Keith Kidwell is questioning how Way could have legally voted in North Carolina's 2022 general election when he attested in his candidate filing in Arizona that he has been an Arizona citizen for six years and a resident of LD15 in the southeast Valley for five years.
Way told Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Rodrick Coffey that it was not necessary to be a North Carolina resident to vote in that state's elections, according to attorney Timothy La Sota, who is representing an LD15 voter challenging Way's eligibility.
That appears to contradict that state's voter registration rules, which require a person to have been a resident for at least 30 days before they can vote.
Way has argued the complaint about his status as a candidate came too late and should have been filed last spring.
Read the letter: State Rep. David Cook's letter to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes
Way did not vote in Arizona's 2022 primary and general elections. But he did cast a ballot in the North Carolina general election in November 2022 as well as in local North Carolina elections in 2021, according to that state's records.
Maricopa County records showed Way voted in the 2022 Arizona primary. But in a court filing Thursday, the Maricopa County Recorder's Office stated there had been a mixup in pulling the proper voter file when fulfilling a public records request. The filing asked the court to accept the updated records, which showed no Arizona voter activity by Way in 2022.
The intrastate voting vexed Cook, who noted that records show Way is currently registered in two states at the same time. The candidate's ability to remain on the ballot and get elected flies in the face of GOP claims of protecting election integrity.
"This seems to be the poster child for laws ensuring election integrity," Cook wrote to Mayes. "We cannot have individuals picking and choosing which state they want to vote in depending on the election."
Mayes' office acknowledged receipt of Cook's complaint but said it is too early to comment on the matter.
The outcome of the legal challenge could have profound effects on the composition of Arizona's next Legislature, in which Republicans hold a one-seat majority. Way is likely to win one of the two House seats in LD15, which leans heavily Republican.
If he were determined ineligible, it could lead to the two remaining candidates — Rep. Neal Carter, R-San Tan Valley and Barbara Beneitone, a Queen Creek Democrat — taking the seats. That would give Democrats an unexpected pickup in the closely divided House.
However, the lawsuit that has challenged Way's eligibility asks Coffey to direct election officials to count the votes cast for Way, and, if he wins, to order the seat vacant. That would lead to an appointment of a replacement from the same political party, which would keep the seat in Republican hands.
Meanwhile, Kidwell is pursuing his intent to have the North Carolina Board of Elections investigate Way. "If you move out of the state and vote in another state, then you've lost your voting privilege in North Carolina," he said.
Way maintains he has been in Arizona for 15 years, but acknowledged he has moved back and forth between the two states. He told The Arizona Republic last month that he didn't recall voting in North Carolina. In court on Sept. 2, he said he was in North Carolina on a temporary work assignment, according to an account in The Arizona Agenda.
Reach the reporter atmaryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.comor at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter@maryjpitzl.
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