A federal appeals court is refusing to order Arizona to count provisional ballots cast by voters whose citizenship wasn't confirmed when they applied to register to vote.

A civil rights group asked an appeals court to require Arizona counties to process provisional ballots from voters with unconfirmed citizenship status.

The state's latest voter rolls paint a worrisome picture for Democrats this November. Arizona added nearly 159,000 new voters since the general election two years ago, pushing the electoral population to more than 3.1 million. But the number of Democrats shrank by almost 20,000.

Early ballots will be the first tallied on election night. And if history is a guide, they will also be among the last.

A federal appeals court has struck down a key part of Arizona's law requiring voters to prove they are citizens before registering to vote or casting ballots.

In a year when Democrats are struggling to energize supporters, Hispanic voters appear significantly less motivated than the rest of the U.S. to cast election ballots even though two-thirds of Latino registered voters say they'll vote Democratic in their congressional race, a Pew Hispanic Center study found.

The deadline for Arizonans to register to vote in the Nov. 2 general election is midnight on Monday.

Activists say Latinos, feeling the pressure of the recession and concerned about the effects of SB 1070, will flock to the polls and wield the influence of their numbers. This is not the first year activists have touted the voting potential of Latinos, who make up an estimated 31 percent of Arizona’s population. But political scientists and activists have differing views about whether this will be the year.

Turnout is expected to be between 20-25 percent of registered voters, the range seen in Arizona's recent primary elections.

Voter registration in Arizona has spiked, adding more than 300,000 people to the rolls in the last two years. The increase indicates that Arizona's political landscape is drawing the public's interest, but many are also registering as independents, which could mean that disaffection with the established parties lingers.