Arizona House Republicans Pass Bill Eliminating No-Excuse Early Mail-in Voting
Washington, D.C. — Arizona House Republicans have passed a bill that would significantly curb voting rights in the state and eliminate the most popular voting method in Arizona, early mail-in voting.
The legislation, which cleared the House in a party-line vote last Thursday, would end no-excuse mail-in voting, called “early voting” in Arizona. Currently, any voter in Arizona can vote by early mail-in ballot. Under the proposed bill, voters would only be allowed to vote early by mail if they have disabilities, are elderly or overseas or military voters. Exceptions would also be made for voters living outside of the state temporarily or to attend school, or if they provide proof that they are traveling on Election Day. Otherwise, voters would only be left with the option of voting in-person.
More than 75% of Arizonans vote by early mail-in ballot, according to AZ Mirror. Voters in Arizona have been utilizing the method ever since state Republicans legalized the practice in 1991. Arizona has been a stalwart in mail-in voting since, and in 2020 almost 90% of ballots were mail-in ballots.
Under the recently passed bill, voters would only have two business days to fix signature issues — currently they have five business days. The bill would also ban voting centers, polling locations where any voter within a respective county may vote. As the law stands today, Arizona voters can vote at any voting center in their county if the county chooses to utilize the method. Twelve of the state’s 15 counties have voting centers, including Maricopa and Pima counties. If the proposed legislation were enacted, voters would instead only be able to vote at their singular designated precinct location.
Last month, Arizona House Republicans passed a separate bill that also would entirely ban the use of voting centers in the state, along with on-site early voting locations.
The legislation banning no-excuse early mail-in voting now heads to the Arizona Senate for its consideration. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) has previously vetoed bills attacking voting rights, including a bill that sought to limit mail-in voting.