Disenfranchising Arizona

Arizona State Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita is doing her level best to hammer down voter turnout in the Grand Canyon State. She’s the motive force between these three bills, each of which has the potential to change how Arizonans govern themselves.

Senate Bill 1046

Bans voters from dropping off early ballots in person.

In November of 2018 more than a quarter-million Arizonans dropped off ballots at their polling places rather than mail them in. SB 1046 will prevent them from doing that. Preventing drop off means that those voters who couldn’t get their ballots into the mail for some reason would either not get to vote or have to wait in line at the polls, thereby defeating much of the point of early voting.

Senate Bill 1188

Restricts early voting to a pre-approved list

Of course, most early votes in Arizona aren’t cast by mail or dropped off. Millions of Arizonans take advantage of early voting. SB 1188 will make early-voting less convenient by requiring voters to enroll in an early voting program in advance.

Senate Bill 1072

Requires Voter ID at early voting centers

Right now Arizona residents only have to show ID at their polling places if they’re voting on election day. Residents who don’t have that ID or have tribal ID not recognized by the state can still vote early without being required to present that ID. SB 1072 will change that, requiring that all Arizona ballots cast in person require an ID to cast.

Tell Your Government What You Think

If you live in Arizona these bills could change the way your state governs itself; you can have your say about them by sending the word state to Resistbot. And, as always, you can write to Congress about this or any other topic by sending the word Resist to Resistbot on Facebook Messenger, Telegram, or as a Twitter direct message. If none of those work for you, Resistbot also supports old fashioned SMS: text RESIST to 50409 to get started. It takes 2 minutes to make a statement.