Karina Ruiz de Diaz, an illegal immigrant who qualified for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and is hedging on President Joe Biden’s promise of a pathway to citizenship, petitioned to end a bill prohibiting illegal immigrants from voting, HB2492. As AZ Free News reported last week, the House Government and Elections Committee passed the bill.
“[This bill] is threatening my ability as #DACA and the ability of #immigrants in AZ to help those eligible citizens to register to #VOTE,” wrote Ruiz de Diaz.
Call your AZ State Rep and deliver a message to save democracy in the state #HB2492 is threatening my ability as #DACA and the ability of #immigrants in AZ to help those eligible citizens to register to #VOTE Make a call now https://t.co/e2tMCn32Nj
Ruiz de Diaz was among the group of individuals who filmed themselves following Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) into a bathroom last October over her refusal to answer whether she’d support President Joe Biden’s reconciliation bill. Later on the same day of that incident, Ruiz de Diaz confronted Sinema on her plane ride back to D.C. It appears, however, that Ruiz de Diaz didn’t have to worry about her voting rights during the 2020 election: she revealed that her son voted for Biden.
“I am a DACA recipient from Arizona who volunteered to help elect Sen. Sinema. I asked her to follow through on her promises to immigrants in Arizona and support citizenship through reconciliation,” stated Ruiz. “My son voted for President Biden and his Build Back Better agenda. He voted for bold action from democrats to protect immigrants.”
Message from Karina – I am a DACA recipient from Arizona who volunteered to help elect Sen. Sinema. I asked her to follow through on her promises to immigrants in Arizona and support citizenship through reconciliation. pic.twitter.com/iw4nsrI2v7
In January, police dismissed their investigation into the activists who followed Sinema. Law enforcement said that Sinema went into the bathroom with knowledge that it was illegal to film another in the bathroom, citing Sinema’s comments in the initial police report. Arrests can jeopardize an individual’s DACA status.
According to an Arizona Republic profile on Ruiz de Diaz’s family, which included details of their illegal border crossing, Ruiz de Diaz came to Arizona from Mexico in 1999 at around 14 years old. She fled with her father, Mauro Santiago Ruiz Barrita, and her mother, Virginia Ruiz Barrita, after her father claimed he was attacked at gunpoint in their hometown of Oaxaca, Mexico. Arizona Republic reporter Megan Taros featured the story of Ruiz de Diaz’s family last March as part of a story on Ruiz Barrita’s death at 74 from COVID-19 in “Loved and Not Forgotten: Phoenix and Scottsdale Area,” part of the outlet’s series, “100 Stories.”
Ruiz de Diaz supplemented the content for the profile on her father, noting that he was saddened he couldn’t return to Mexico to see his dying mother three years ago. She added that her father would often say about America: “Even if the cage is made of gold it is still a prison,” in Spanish.
“His heart was broken between the U.S. and Mexico,” said Ruiz de Diaz in the interview.
Due to being an illegal immigrant, Ruiz de Diaz told CNN that it took over a decade to earn a biochemistry degree from Arizona State University (ASU).
“I have felt voiceless because in Arizona voters passed a law that says I have to show proof of legal residency for in-state tuition. Because of that law, it took me 12 years to graduate from college with a bachelor of science in biochemistry that I’m not using right now. I’m not working in my field because I have to be fighting this fight. My life and the lives of people like myself who qualified for DACA, and people who did not, were on the line the last four years. This fight took priority,” said Ruiz de Diaz. “I dream of going back to my field one day. I want to teach science. I want to do research. When I’m a citizen I could go back to doing that, knowing I have grown leaders in the community who can carry on the work of the nonprofit.”
Currently, Ruiz de Diaz serves as the executive director of Arizona Dream Act Coalition (ADAC), a nonprofit that advocates for illegal immigrants’ unfettered access to work, housing, and education. Ruiz de Diaz told CNN in the same interview that she’s helped thousands of people register to vote over the years; her desire to vote served as one main reason she supported Biden.
“The first thing that I would do is register to vote. I have helped so many people register to vote in the last five years, I lost count. It’s more than 1,000 or 2,000 people, because I wanted them to be a voice for me. I wanted them to understand the power that they have in deciding who represents them,” said Ruiz de Diaz.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The House Government and Elections Committee narrowly approved a resolution requiring expanded voter ID requirements for any mail-in or early drop-off ballots.
HCR2025, called the “Arizonans for Voter ID Act,” would require voters to sign an affidavit with their ballot, including their birth date and an “early voter ID” constituting one of the following: their driver’s license number, nonoperating ID license number, last four digits of their Social Security number, or their unique identifying number. In order to protect the voter’s information, counties would be required to provide an additional privacy folder or slip.
The resolution would also prohibit the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) from charging a fee for an ID if the applicant discloses that the ID was obtained for the purposes of registering to vote or voting. Photo ID that doesn’t contain a suitable address must be accompanied by additional documentation verifying ID.
State Representative John Fillmore (R-Apache Junction) introduced the resolution, formed with assistance from the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. The Club’s deputy director, Greg Blackie, explained that there’s currently a similar voter initiative being conducted throughout the state, also called Arizonans For Voter ID. Blackie added that this resolution expanded on last year’s universal ID efforts.
In response to concerns from Minority Leader Reginald Bolding (D-Laveen) that voters’ private information would be compromised, Blackie reminded Bolding that the same private information was routinely sent through the mail such as tax return forms.
Bolding said that he was in opposition to the legislation because it didn’t take into account the difficulties it might impose on the elderly or the Navajo nations. He said that many lack multiple forms of what would qualify as early voter ID. Bolding implied that legislators’ fears over Arizona becoming a purple rather than a red state were the real reason behind this bill, prompting chiding from Chairman John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills).
Fillmore rebutted that he witnessed all parties support the parallel voter initiative currently underway: supporters from the Green Party and independents, in addition to Democrats and Republicans.
“This is a pure voter integrity bill and the people get to speak on it,” said Fillmore.
BILLS PASSED OUT OF HOUSE GOVT & ELECTIONS CMTE & JUDICIARY CMTE 2/16/2022: HB2492 Fed Only Voters – Proof of Citizenship HCR2025 – Referendum sending Voter ID Act to the voters on the ballot HB2786 – Early Ballot request forms – limiting issuance to parties & election officials
This week, Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) employees threatened to call the police on one high school senior for not wearing a mask, ultimately forcing him to leave campus without notifying his parents. The student, Cezar, described his ordeal to conservative talk radio host Jeff Oravitz: he stood outside on a football field with other maskless students, not wanting to be marked absent and desiring an education as he waited for administration to grant them access to the school building.
“My mindset was: I was going to do this protest and still get my education and just go to school, have a normal school day without a mask, and see how it goes,” said Cezar. “But obviously I’m going to stay being respectful and whatnot because that’s the type of person I am and I feel that’s how we need to approach this situation: just peaceful.”
Cezar said that there were approximately 100 students from his high school who protested with him outside against FUSD’s mask mandate, with another estimated 400 students at other schools protesting as well. When he decided he’d attempt to attend class maskless, Cezar took a video of his encounter with administration.
The video shows Cezar engaging with various administrators. Eventually he was escorted by a masked administrator, who wore gauges and his dreadlocks in a man bun. Cezar explained that he’d like to still get his education while doing his peaceful protest. The administrator commented that FUSD should try to find someone who can explain to Cezar and his peers what they’re protesting. When the administrator informs Cezar the other students in class will be masked, Cezar says, “No, thank you,” to which the administrator responds, “Yes.”
The pair eventually come upon another male administrator, who informs Cezar that he can either wear a mask to attend class, stand outside on the football field, or have his parents pick him up. Cezar informed the administrator that they could call his parents and that he would go to class.
Cezar then comes upon the female administrator who repeated what the two prior male administrators said: Cezar would either have to wear a mask or have his parents pick him up. The female administrator refused to call Cezar’s parents.
At that point, Cezar requested that the administrator sign a document confirming that he had been kicked off campus by school staff due to his peaceful protest against wearing a mask. The administrator refused. She suggested Cezar talk to the school board and superintendent about his refusal to wear a mask.
“I don’t feel like they listen because no ever comes from it,” said Cezar. “And when it does, it’s very minimal.”
Another female administrator suggested that they call the police because she “didn’t feel comfortable” with Cezar around, and that she was going to retreat to a “safer space.” The administrator then explained to Cezar that his rights ended where their rights began.
Cezar also had another document from his parents asserting his right to peacefully protest masking, replicated below:
“To whom it concerns,
Students have a constitutional right to participate in non-disruptive protests during the school day. This means that school officials cannot retaliate against or discipline student protestors unless the protests cause, or are reasonably expected to cause, the disruption of school events or make it impossible for school officials to maintain order.
As the child’s parent this letter is not only my expressed permission but an assertion of my child’s right to peacefully protest in the following manner:
Not wearing a mask –
1) Demonstrating concern regarding the potential health and safety issues, such as decreased oxygen levels and inhalation of harmful bacteria, that arise through mandated mask-wearing forced upon the individual; and
2) Exercising freedom of choice, conscience, or taking actions aligned with an individual’s creed.
School policy allows for expressive speech at all times, in-so-far as the speech does not interfere with the normal operations of the school. Because my child’s expressive speech will not impact school operations, I expect there will be no issues for my child.
My child is not to be sent to the office. I do not give my child permission to leave campus, nor will I pick my child up. My child shall not be harassed, bullied, or treated differently by any teacher, administrator, faculty, or student for standing up for his/her right to peacefully protest the mask mandates. If any teacher or administrator takes issue with my child’s right to protest, please contact me to meet with them and the principal for further discussion.”
Cezar expressed gratitude that he’s been able to have in-person learning again, but lamented at the difficulties, inconsistencies, and behavior changes from others he’s endured. He described how no educator was willing to help him or even offer a kind word when he was unable to breathe through a mask due to severe allergies.
“The constant masking and being told to put your mask up – teachers are not nice about this, they are kind of aggressive when it comes to making sure our masks are up,” explained Cezar. “I had an incident with a teacher where it’s the end of the school day, I’m walking out and I take off my mask because I’ve been wearing it all day and he like gets right up on me in my personal space and he’s telling me to put my mask back on and he’s demanding it and raising his voice and whatnot. It’s purely not right to talk to us this way.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The House Government and Elections Committee passed a bill prohibiting illegal immigrants from voting, HB2492, on Wednesday. The bill would require those registering to vote to prove their residential address, date and place of birth, and affirmation that they are a citizen using a U.S. Election Assistance Commission form.
If an applicant fails to offer satisfactory proof of citizenship, then the county must attempt to verify the applicant’s citizenship status within 10 days using, at minimum, information from the Department of Transportation (ADOT), Social Security Administration (SSA), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program, National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems Electronic Verification of Vital Events, and any other databases that the elections official has access to within the state, city, town, county, or federal government.
Election officials that refuse to reject a registration form would be subject to a class six felony. If officials find proof that the applicant isn’t an American citizen, then they must notify the applicant of their rejection and refer the case to both the county attorney and attorney general for further investigation. However, if an election official can’t find any citizenship information whatsoever, then they will only notify the applicant of their rejection and offer them 30 days to respond with evidence of citizenship.
The bill would impact federal-only voters — those who made a substantial impact in the 2020 election — because applicants without satisfactory citizenship proof wouldn’t be qualified to vote in federal elections. Exemptions would be carved out for those under the Uniformed And Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), such as military members.
Furthermore, the bill requires that county officials make records of all their efforts to verify an applicant’s citizenship status. They must also present a list of all individuals who registered to vote and haven’t provided satisfactory evidence of citizenship by Halloween of this year. At that point, the attorney general would have until the end of next March to determine each applicant’s citizenship status and submit a report to the secretary of state, senate president, and house speaker.
The legislation sponsor, State Representative Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), explained that the number of individuals who hadn’t shown Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC) went from 1,700 in 2018 to over 11,000 in 2020.
Hoffman worked with the Arizona Free Enterprise Club to draft the bill, whose deputy director, Greg Blackie, offered testimony to the committee recounting Arizonans’ history of supporting citizenship requirements for voting, citing the state’s approval of Prop 200 in 2004: the Arizona voter-approved initiative that made citizenship a qualification to register to vote.
Both the federal and state government worked to undermine Prop 200. Although the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) requires states to use its federal form for voter registration, Blackie explained that the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must consult with each state to include tailored instructions on that state’s voter qualifications; however, the EAC hasn’t included Arizona’s requirement of proof of citizenship. In 2013, the Supreme Court overturned Prop 200, ruling that the NVRA preempted Arizona’s proof of citizenship requirement. In 2018, Arizona’s secretary of state and the Maricopa County recorder agreed to a consent decree ignoring Prop 200.
“The result has been the complete proliferation of the federal-only voters list,” stated Blackie. “This bill really is necessary to safeguard our voter rolls, ensuring only qualified applicants are properly registered and voting in our elections, restoring confidence and ensuring in Arizona it’s easy to vote, hard to cheat.”
In announcing her vote against the bill, State Representative Sarah Ligouri (D-Phoenix) argued Arizona’s voter registration processes and ID processes are “completely secure.” Liguori said that Arizona should strike down this bill, as Kansas and Alabama did for similar bills.
“I think this legislation is unnecessary and impunitive to newly-registered and new citizen voters,” said Liguori.
The bill passed 7-6 on party lines.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The Arizona House Government and Elections Committee approved State Representative Jake Hoffman’s (R-Queen Creek) bill to split Maricopa County into four separate counties. The four new counties would be Maricopa, encompassing central Phoenix, Tempe, and Tolleson; Mogollon, encompassing north Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Cave Creek; O’odham, encompassing Buckeye, Peoria, and Surprise; and Hohokam, encompassing Gilbert, Mesa, and Chandler. If signed into law, the current Maricopa County officials would continue jurisdictional operations until boards of supervisors could be established in those three counties. The committee approved the bill along party lines, meaning it barely passed with a 7-6 majority.
Hoffman stated during committee that this would be a fairer representation of current Maricopa County residents, and that any attempts to characterize this bill as a response to a dispute over the 2020 election results was a conspiracy theory. Arizona House Democrats insisted otherwise.
Rep. Jake Hoffman's big-government punishment for Maricopa County not going along with overturning the 2020 election for Trump is up in Gov. and Elex committee. #HB2787 would split Maricopa County 4 ways. Includes his personal gerrymander, so 1 big Dem county, three smaller GOP.
Gubernatorial candidate Steve Gaynor testified during committee that Maricopa County threatened to overtake Arizona the way that similarly-dominant counties in other states have, such as Los Angeles County, California.
“The two largest counties by population in the country, Los Angeles and Cook, are examples of what Maricopa will likely become if action is not taken,” Gaynor testified. “Their governments are wasteful and unresponsive to citizen needs, and they are unpleasant places to live.”
Today I told the Legislature to BREAK UP MARICOPA COUNTY.
We don't want a liberal, terribly-run megacounty like Los Angeles or Cook County here in AZ, so we need to act now on Rep. Jake Hoffman's HB 2787. #AZGovpic.twitter.com/Qje84R5CSB
— Steve Gaynor for Arizona Governor (@gaynorforgov) February 16, 2022
Los Angeles County has a population of over 10 million, while the second-largest county, San Diego County, has over 3.3 million. Similarly, Maricopa County is by far the largest county in Arizona at around 4.5 million residents. The next-largest county, Pima County, doesn’t come close in terms of population count: a little over 1 million. The federal government estimated Arizona’s total population last summer to be around 7.3 million citizens, meaning Maricopa County contains around 62 percent of the state’s population.
Considering the size of its constituency, Maricopa County has only five supervisors, and one of other county officials like sheriff, secretary, and recorder. By comparison, Greenlee County, the least-populous county at under 10,000 residents, has just two less supervisors and the same number of other county-wide officials.
President Joe Biden eked out a victory in Arizona thanks to Maricopa County, earning over 10,400 more votes in the state than former President Donald Trump. Biden won just over 50 percent of the vote in Maricopa County, or over 1.04 million votes, while Trump won over 48 percent of the vote, or 995,000.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
