A Republican-backed voter suppression measure appears to be dead after key GOP legislators came out against it in the state Senate, where the GOP holds just a 17-13 majority. This bill would have bannedvoters who receive a mail ballot from turning in that ballot in person, forcing them to return it via mail or wait in line to cast a regular ballot if they waited too late to mail it in on time. Most voters vote by mail in Arizona, but 228,000 voters dropped off their mail ballots in person in 2018, so this bill would likely have had a sizable impact had it passed.
However, Arizona Republicans are considering another proposal that could make it harder for thousands of Arizonans to vote. Arizona lets voters sign up to receive a mail ballot automatically at each election, which is why voting by mail has become so popular in the Grand Canyon state, but a state Senate committee passed a bill on a party-line vote to purge infrequent voters from the state’s permanent absentee-by-mail list.
If this bill were to become law, it would remove voters from the permanent absentee list if they haven’t voted in any of the last two general elections or primary elections. While those voters would still be registered, they would have to either apply for a new absentee ballot or vote in person. Opponents of the proposal argue it’s simply unnecessary, since the state and counties already take steps to maintain their voter rolls when people move, die, or otherwise become ineligible.
From Daily Kos
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