Request to Speak Action: Stop AZ legislatures from making voting harder

Some state lawmakers are trying to make voting harder and elections costlier by proposing the following bills:

• SB1010 would allow anyone to order a recount of an election if they pay for it, thus delaying election results even when a recount doesn't make sense.
• SB1069 would redefine the word “permanent” by dropping voters from the Permanent Early Voting List if they miss voting their early ballots in two back-to-back elections.
• HB2039 would more than double the percentage of ballots that must be counted by hand, making elections more costly and time-consuming for no good reason.
• HB2054 would require the secretary of state to purge deceased voters, increasing the likelihood that eligible voters will be removed by mistake.
• All these bills will be heard in committee this week, so you can use RTS. Due to the stacked nature of committees, they will probably to proceed to the next step, so look ahead — contact your representatives for House bills and your senator for Senate bills to OPPOSE these bad pieces of legislation!

Please, weigh on on Request to Speak:

Sign on: https://apps.azleg.gov/account/signon

Sign up for a Request to Speak account here: https://www.cebv.us/rts.html

Scheduled for Thursday in the Senate Government Committee
(Weigh in on request to speak before Thursday or while it is still in committee.)

SB1010, sponsored by JD Mesnard (R-17), would allow anyone to request a recount of an election, through tabulation machines or by hand, and regardless of the margin of victory, as long as they post a bond to cover the cost. The proposal, which is being touted as a way to bolster confidence in elections, comes amid baseless allegations and conspiracy theories among Trump supporters of fraud in the 2020 election. County recorders on both sides of the aisle caution that lawmakers should keep in mind the time and personnel it would take to conduct such recounts. Scheduled for Senate Government Committee, Thursday. OPPOSE.

SB1069, sponsored by Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-23), would strip voters from the Permanent Early Voting List if they fail to vote their early ballots in two back-to-back primary and general elections. This is at least the second year the bill has been introduced; it was on track to pass last year before the COVID shutdown. Numerous officials opposed the bill then, including the Secretary of State, Maricopa County Recorder and Arizona Association of Counties. No one testified in favor of the bill or even came forward with a problem the bill would have fixed. A solution in search of a problem. Scheduled for Senate Government Committee, Thursday. OPPOSE.

Scheduled for Wednesday in the House Government & Elections Committee
(Weigh in on Request to Speak by Wednesday's meeting or while it is being heard.)

HB2054, sponsored by Steve Kaiser (R-15), requires, rather than permits, the secretary of state to compare the records of deaths with the statewide voter registration database and purge deceased voters. Eligible voters often end up being removed by mistake, and federal law strictly governs how close to an election these purges can take place. Garrett Archer said he used to do this monthly when he worked for the Secretary of State's office. This solution in search of a problem should at least be paired with same-day voter registration so voters can correct any error. Scheduled for House Government & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.

HCR2001, sponsored by John Kavanagh (R-23), would ask voters to limit initiatives in Arizona to a single subject or be invalidated. In 2017, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce sued to knock the minimum wage increase initiative off the ballot, arguing that wage and sick leave provisions violated the single-subject rule. The Arizona Supreme Court rejected that argument, saying voters could do as they liked. If passed, this bill would provide a way around that. Instituting a single subject rule would make it all but impossible to place comprehensive citizen initiatives on the ballot. Scheduled for House Government & Elections Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.