DOJ investigates Arizona voter drives days before election

Driving the news: In a news release, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona announced it has "opened a case into recent reporting about three non-profit organizations registering non-citizens to vote in Arizona."

• The groups are nonprofits Worker Power and Stand Indivisible AZ, as well as When We Count, a voter-registration program of the Democratic National Committee.
• DNC spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández wrote to Axios, "We are not aware of any instances of our fellows … registering a noncitizen to vote." He called the allegations "fabricated" and "inspired by right-wing operatives."
• The other two groups did not immediately respond.

State of play: The "recent reporting" appears to reference an Oct. 22 video by Muckraker, a right-wing media outlet with a marred past. The video shows a man posing as a felon or noncitizen and asking if he can register to vote.

• The U.S. attorney's office has "already referred the matter to the FBI," per the announcement.

Between the lines: In letters to both Republican Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap and Democratic Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Courchaine wrote that it "appears these organizations … may have violated" a state law about knowingly registering ineligible persons.

• However, the video does not show them registering anyone, only discussing it.
• U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine asked both men for "a review of registrations submitted by these groups to ensure only United States Citizens were registered to vote."
• The U.S. Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to questions from Axios about what additional evidence, if any, it has against the groups.

The big picture: The Arizona probe comes as the Justice Department has begun waging election legal challenges across the nation.

• The DOJ has sued 30 states and D.C. seeking detailed voter registration records and has lost in every case decided so far.
• Separately, a federal appeals court rejected Friday its bid to set aside mail ballots from 20,000 California voters, saying the department's claims it suspects them of being noncitizens was "not credible."
• And in Alaska, federal prosecutors confirmed Friday a criminal investigation involving a Senate candidate sharing the name of Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan. The DOJ is also seeking to segregate ballots there.

The intrigue: The letters to the recorder and secretary of state are almost identical, except for one subtle difference.

• The letter to Heap, a Republican ally of President Trump, concludes with "I know you are dedicated to securing Arizona's elections."
• The one to Fontes, a Democrat critical of Trump, instead says, "I trust that you are dedicated."

Reality check: Former Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell, a Republican, questions the timing of the announcement, warning it could mislead voters.

• Voter registration closed weeks ago, and elections officials have little time to review registrations.
• She also says that registrations would be checked for eligibility and the chance of an ineligible person receiving a ballot is low.

What they're saying: "It just seems like we keep seeing these little steps to confuse people," Purcell says.

Flashback: Arizona has been at the center of election-fraud conspiracy theories since President Trump's 2020 defeat, including a Republican-commissioned review of Maricopa County ballots by the firm Cyber Ninjas.

• The widely criticized review ultimately confirmed Joe Biden's victory.
• Heap won his office in 2024 backed by election-deniers, and just last week, he settled a lawsuit involving U.S. citizens whom his office had barred from voting, despite a county attorney's investigation confirming their citizenship.

What we're watching: It's unclear whether Heap or Fontes will review the registrations as requested.

• Neither immediately responded to Axios' questions.