A 2023 state audit on Arizona Motor Vehicle Division oversight raises more questions about loopholes that could impact voter roll integrity. State auditors found MVD officials failed to ensure authorized third-party companies consistently issued driver licenses and identification cards to qualified individuals. Looking at transactions for 2022, auditors found 10% of their sample did not include required documentation, and “might result in an individual being granted privileges they may not be entitled to.” Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said he just learned of the audit Monday, and he was “disappointed” he was not alerted earlier about the implications.

PHOENIX (AP) — The number of voters in the battleground state of Arizona classified as having full access to the ballot without confirmation they are citizens has more than doubled to 218,000, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said.

That number represents 5.3% of all registered voters. While the error won’t change who is eligible to vote for president or Congress, that amount of voters could sway tight local and state races, and hotly contested ballot measures on abortion and immigration.

Arizona is unique in that it requires residents to prove citizenship to vote a full ballot — a requirement dating back to 2004. If they don’t do that but attest under penalty of perjury to being citizens, they can vote in federal races only.

Fontes announced Monday that the number of misclassified voters jumped from about 98,000 last month to around 218,000.

It’s unclear how officials missed the additional bloc of voters after saying two weeks ago that an error between the state’s voter registration database and the Motor Vehicle Division, or MVD, had been fixed.

Aaron Thacker, a spokesperson for Fontes’ office Tuesday that the fix that MVD put in place didn’t solve the problem.

The Arizona Department of Transportation, which oversees the MVD, said in an email that it created a coding update in its system but didn’t specify when it was implemented.

Around Arizona, a relatively small number of votes could tip the scales in competitive races for the Legislature, where Republicans hold a slim majority in both chambers. This year, voters also will decide on the constitutional right to abortion and a measure to criminalize people from entering the state illegally from Mexico.

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled last month that the original batch of voters can cast a full ballot in this year’s election because they registered long ago and attested under the penalty of perjury that they are citizens. The justices said the voters were not at fault for the error and shouldn’t be disenfranchised so close to the Nov. 5 general election.

Fontes said that ruling should also apply to the new batch of voters, who are nearly evenly split among Democrats, Republicans and voters who aren’t registered with either of those parties.

It’s been five years since the Arizona Wildcats and the Texas Tech Red Raiders faced each other in a football game. Last time, it was a low-stakes non-conference game.

This time, the Wildcats (3-1, 1-0 in Big 12) and the Red Raiders (4-1, 2-0) are going to square off in Arizona Stadium for the right to remain at the top of the Big 12 Conference standings.

The Wildcats’ 23-10 road upset of then-No. 10 Utah put them in a great position to begin a stretch in which they play three of their next four games at home.

The Red Raiders are coming off a 44-41 win over Cincinnati at home. Texas Tech will play just its second road game of the season when it hits Tucson. The first one, well, did not go as planned. The Red Raiders dropped a double-digit loss to Washington State.

Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. mountain time on Saturday with Fox handling the broadcast duties.

Here are three keys to success for the Wildcats as they face Texas Tech on Saturday.

Whatever the Wildcats’ defense did to prep for Utah, they should do the same thing for Texas Tech, which has a more explosive offense and has its intended starter, Behren Morton, at quarterback.

Arizona’s defense was impressive against Utah. The Wildcats gave up 280 total yards, held them to 10 points and, probably most important, held the Utes 0-for-4 on fourth down. It was an incredible display of great defensive timing by the Wildcats.

The pass rush created three sacks and eight tackles for loss. The secondary played the best it has all season, picking off two passes and defending eight others.

The unit kept the Utes on its heels all night. Arizona must do the same to Texas Tech on Saturday.

While the fate of Jacory Croskey-Merritt’s eligibility continues to twist in the background, the Wildcats are getting more backs involved in the offense, which is a good thing.

Quali Conley still received more touches out of the backfield, carrying 14 times for 72 yards. But Kedrick Reescano was his equal and gained 73 yards on just seven carries. The Ole Miss transfer had a big night against Northern Arizona in Week 2, gaining 71 yards on six carries and scoring a touchdown. But he disappeared against Kansas State. Frankly so did the entire run game.

Without Croskey-Merritt, Reescano appears to be the back the Wildcats can lean on for explosive plays. Thanks largely to the pair, the run game gained 161 yards to complement quarterback Noah Fifita’s 197 passing yards. That’s the kind of balance coaches love to see.

Texas Tech has scored at least 30 points in four of its five games this season. In fact, the Red Raiders have scored at least 44 points in three of their five games. The Red Raiders have scored points by the bushel this season, which isn’t a real surprise if one follows Texas Tech football.

That makes it imperative that the Wildcat defense limits big plays and the Wildcat offense gets on the board early. No lead is safe. Texas Tech has proved that time and again.