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(Arizona News Connection) Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes testified before Congress Wednesday about the state of our elections system. Public confidence in the process has been discredited, leading to increased threats against election workers, he said, and added that election administrators have not received sustained and dependable federal funding, even after being declared critical infrastructure by the Department of Homeland Security.

"Do the same for highways and dams and railroads and see what happens. We implore you, please consider. If this is such a big deal and if it is so important that we continue to have free, fair and secure elections - fund them," he said.

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Despite the federal government having sought to improve election administration through a grant program called the Help America Vote Act, unpredictable funding levels have left state officials unable to adequately plan budgets. Fontes said rising mis- and disinformation surrounding elections, as well as threats against elections workers, make the grants especially important.

During his testimony, Fontes argued that noncitizen voting is not a widespread or even significant problem. He recalled that in 2004, Arizona approved Proposition 200, which requires proof of citizenship to vote. But according to a 2016 study by the Brennan Center for Justice, improper noncitizen votes accounted for one out of every 10,000 votes across 42 jurisdictions. Fontes said the paranoia around what he terms a "fake problem" is having real impacts on eligible voters. During his time as Maricopa County recorder, he says his office found 94,000 rejected voter registration forms.

"Many, many thousands of them duplicate forms where voters tried and tried and tried again to register," he said. "And after thorough research, 47,000 eligible American citizens were found to have been denied the right to vote, because of that law."

Fontes called the situation embarrassing. Funding for the federal government is set to expire at the end of the month, and House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing pressure from House Republicans to use the deadline to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would mandate proof of citizenship in order to vote. Noncitizen voting is already illegal.