19 AZ bills will make voting more difficult

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - The Brennan Center for Justice says Arizona leads the nation in voter suppression bills following the 2020 election.

Some lawmakers say it’s likely more than that.

“I think these are bills that are ultimately about furthering this notion that the 2020 election was rigged with fraud,” said Andres Cano, a state House member from District 3. “Ultimately it’s the members of the majority party trying to make voting, voting access as difficult as possible.”

It’s likely many, if not most, of the bills will not make it out of committee but some may.

“I fully expect most of these proposals will be vetted in court after passage from the legislature if the Governor signs on to these things,” Cano said. “It’s an example of the legislature having a completely different approach from what’s reality.”

Here are some of the bills in question.

HB 2070 This bill would allow the legislature to appoint it’s own slate of electors in the Presidential election whether their side won or lost. It rejects the will of the voters.

SB 1503 Under this bill, the county recorder will send voters a ballot in the mail but after filling it out, it must be returned by hand to an official polling place.

HB 2730 This bill would virtually ends mail in voting which nearly 80% of the voters used in 2020.

There are other bills which would require a ballot signature to be notarized and another which would severely restrict voter registration drives.

“We have to continue to put attention to the fact that Arizona is usually the microcosm of bad ideas across the country,” Cano said.

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