Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs Vetos Major Election Bills

The rejected bills would have made a wide range of changes to the Copper State’s election laws on the voter registration system, poll site procedures, and mail-in ballots.

Hobbs’s moves Friday raise her total number of vetos to 99, a number larger than that of any previous Arizona governor.

One of the bills, Senate Bill 1135, proposed to pull Arizona from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) and move voter registration to “a contracted third party.” The bill also specified that voters must use a blue or black pen to fill the ballot.

Hobbs said ERIC is essential and helps improve election integrity.

“I have vetoed SB 1135. This bill would prohibit Arizona from remaining a part of the Eletronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which is an essential tool in ensuring accurate voter registration rolls in Arizona and across the country. It is unfortunate that many Republicans in the Legislature … send to my desk a bill that would prevent Arizona from joining organizations that actually help improve the integrity of our elections,” she said in the veto letter.

Senate Bill 1105, which would allow election workers to tabulate early ballots at polling sites on Election Day, was also vetoed.

“The county recorder or other county officer in charge of elections shall do all of the following for the on-site tabulation of early ballots,” the bill proposed.

The on-site tabulation would be “very difficult for election officials to implement,” Hobbs said.

One of the four rejected bills, Senate Bill 1066, would have required “Not from a Government Agency” to be printed in an obvious way on the envelopes of documents sent by voter registration organizations. Senate Bill 1180 proposed to ban organizations from paying employees based on the number of voter registrations they collect.

Arizona state Senator and President Pro Tempore John Kavanagh, a primary sponsor of two of the rejected bills, said he’s disappointed with the governor’s decision.

“I still stand on the side of transparency, and I’m sorry the governor wasn’t with me,” he told The Arizona Republic.... (Read more)

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