Last week, the Secretary of State’s office received the “Arizonans for Voter ID Act:” a ballot initiative to strengthen ID requirements for in-person and mail-in voting through universal voter ID. The initiative will require ID for mail-in ballots, but will also provide a free voter ID to those registered voters who need it. Voters would also be required to give certain information: their date of birth, as well as either the last four digits of their Social Security Number, driver’s license number, or nonoperating state identification number.
Proponents of the Arizonans for Voter ID Act assert that its voter ID requirement will also deter ballot harvesting. The political committee that filed the ballot initiative, Arizonans for Voter ID, was joined in their efforts by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, Heritage Action, Honest Elections Project Action, Foundation for Government Accountability, the Goldwater Institute, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Arizona, AMAC Action, and Arizona Women of Action.
As required by law to qualify for the 2022 November ballot, the Arizonans for Voter ID Act acquired at least 237,645 signatures by July 7.
Arizona Free Enterprise Club President Scot Mussi asserted that most Arizonans and all other American citizens support strong voter ID.
“This initiative will ensure that no matter when you vote, where you vote, or how you vote, identification will be required,” said Mussi.
The polls support this claim. Over 60 percent of Arizona voters support voter ID. Nationally, around 80 percent of Americans support voter ID.
In July, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito ruled that Arizona law makes it “quite easy” for individuals to vote. The court case, Brnovich, et al. v. Democratic National Committee, et al., outlined the provisions of Arizona voting law that ease the burden for voters. Alito noted that this included in-person voting on Election Day, 27 days of early in-person voting, and only one application required for mail-in voting which could be extended perpetually through the Active Early Voting List as long as voters vote once within two straight two-year election cycles (rebranded from “Permanent Early Voting List,” or PEVL, through legislation passed earlier this year limiting the system’s perpetuity).
ID plays a role in many mainstream societal transactions, as Arizonans for Voter ID Committee Chair Vicki Vaughn argued.
“Arizonans show identification all the time in their daily lives to purchase alcohol, receive unemployment benefits, make major transactions, and board a plane, among others,” stated Vaughn. “Requiring identification before casting a ballot is necessary for our elections.”
A photo ID or another valid, government-issued ID is also required for the following: obtaining a driver’s license, receiving certain in-patient or out-patient doctor or hospital treatments, receiving certain over-the-counter or prescription medicines, buying guns or ammunition, visiting schools or jails, filing court documents, adopting a child, engaging in parole or probation, receiving auto insurance, donating blood, cashing or paying with checks, pawning items, responding to a traffic stop, obtaining a passport, picking up packages at the post office, buying cigarettes, opening a bank account, renting or buying a house, applying for a mortgage, adopting a pet, renting a hotel room, applying for a hunting or fishing license, establishing a utilities account, and applying for a job.
Learn more about the Arizonans for Voter ID Act here.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Republicans have touted making changes to Arizona’s election laws since long before the current legislative session began Jan. 11. But only one major election-related bill has been signed by Gov. Doug Ducey so far, and on Wednesday another bill died and a third was put on hold.
In an unexpected move Wednesday, Republican Reps. Joel John and Michelle Udall cast their votes with all 29 House Democrats against SB1713, the Sen. J.D. Mesnard-sponsored bill which would have required voters to provide one bit of personal identification information on their early ballot affidavit before mailing it in.
SB1713 was introduced by Mesnard (R-LD17) in February to address concerns that a signature on the affidavit without some other identifying information was not sufficient to ensure ballot integrity. The bill later sat in the House for nearly two months before being amended Wednesday to require an early ballot voter’s date of birth to be included on the voter’s affidavit long with their Arizona driver’s license (or non-operating state ID) number or voter registration number.
The amendment passed but a short time later the newly worded bill failed 29 to 31 when John (R-LD4) and Udall (R-LD25) voted no, effectively killing the bill for the session.
Meanwhile, another election-related bill is on life support despite efforts by Sen. Kelly Townsend (R-LD16) and Rep. John Kavanagh (R-LD23) to push through more than 20 changes to how Arizona’s elections are conducted, changes Townsend says are needed to ensure “election integrity, election reform, and election security.”
Among the varied topics covered in SB1241 are the handling of data storage devices used during elections, affidavits for persons who process or count ballots, chain of custody requirements for election equipment, and what to do if there is a conflict between the state’s Election Procedures Manual and state law (hint: the law wins).
SB1241 also makes it easier to cancel a voter’s registration in another state upon their move to Arizona, allows voters who cast ballots at a voting location to request a receipt, prohibits any tabulation equipment from being connected to the internet, and requires all tabulation results to remain in the United States.
Some violations of the bill could be prosecuted as a Class 2 misdemeanor. In addition, it would force county elections officials to report to the Arizona Attorney General or the local county attorney any “inconsistent” signatures on early ballot affidavits.
A scheduled Third Read of SB1241 on Wednesday did not happen due to budget negotiations which led to the House recessing for the next week or so. Assuming it passed the House at some point, it would still need to go back to Senate to vote on the current amended version of the bill.
According to the latest polling of Arizona voters, a sweeping majority support strong voter ID requirements and cleaning up early vote-by-mail lists. A total of 550 voters were polled. 82 percent of them supported voter ID in general, with nearly 64 percent in support of requiring ID verification in order to vote by mail.
Although the majority of respondents in support of voter ID requirements were Republicans, a significant amount of Democratic respondents supported them as well. 42 percent of Democratic respondents supported ID requirements for vote-by-mail. Nearly 69 percent of Democratic respondents supported ID requirements for all who vote.
The poll results come as the Arizona state legislature considers bills addressing those very matters. SB1713 would require a form of voter ID for mail-in voting, such as a driver’s license number and signature. That bill has already passed the Senate, and is progressing through the House. SB1485 would clean up the early vote-by-mail lists; it was last retained on the House calendar after passage by the Senate.
The primary majority of respondents were 65 and older, but the second-largest class of respondents fell in the 18 to 34 category. A poll released by the Harvard Institute of Politics before the 2020 election assessed that a majority of 18 to 29-year-olds displayed Democratic leanings with their intent to vote for President Joe Biden.
Although a slight majority of respondents considered themselves Republicans when asked about how they were registered to vote, the greater majority classified themselves as “moderate” rather than conservative when asked what they would classify themselves. The greatest number of respondents either had attended college and not achieved their degree, or received their bachelor’s only. And, the greatest number of respondents were nearly split in their voting patterns, having either voted in all of the last four general elections or none of them.
60 percent of respondents hailed from Maricopa County. That particular county has made headlines for a number of election-related controversies. Several weeks ago, the Arizona Senate hired four companies to audit the county’s results from the 2020 election. The results of that audit are pending. Last week, Republican leaders reached their goal to cover the audit expenses.
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club and Heritage Action sponsored the survey.
In a press release shared with AZ Free News, Arizona Free Enterprise Club President Scot Mussi explained that the poll reflects that Arizona voters hold a positive view of stricter voting regulations despite opposing media coverage.
“During the past two weeks, the public has heard nothing but negative attacks from the media on the issue of election integrity,” said Mussi. “This poll clearly shows that most voters support reasonable laws that protect our election process, despite no organized campaign in support of these reforms.”
Corinne Murdock is a contributing reporter for AZ Free News. In her free time, she works on her books and podcasts. Follow her on Twitter, @CorinneMurdock or email tips to corinnejournalist@gmail.com.
