Grand Canyon Times

Arizona House Bill 2905, which recently passed the Arizona House and is being heard in the Arizona Senate, seeks to require citizens to request ballots if they wish to vote early, rather than automatically being sent a ballot. 

The text of the bill states that county recorders and election officials cannot mail an early ballot to anyone who has not requested an one for that specific election. Further, the bill clarifies that any election official that violates this provision has committed a Class 5 felony. Ballots may only be collected by "a family member household member or caregiver." Anyone outside of those groups collecting ballots constitutes "ballot harvesting" and is in violation of the law under the proposed bill.

According to the Arizona Clean Elections Commission, Arizona begins in-person early voting 27 days before Election Day. Arizona allows for no-excuse absentee voting. Ballot harvesting, voting by felons, the reception of mail-in ballots after Election Day, automatic voter registration or same-day voter registration are not allowed in Arizona. Additionally, Arizona mandates that voters must show photo ID or two forms of non-photo ID to cast a ballot.

HB 2905 was introduced by nine Arizona representatives and would amend Section 16-542 of Arizona's revised statutes. Arizona voters can still vote in person if their ballot is in the mail by going to a ballot replacement center that will be available on Election Day. 

Voters can confirm that their ballot was counted at arizona.vote, and there are separate websites for Maricopa County and Navajo County voters. United States citizens living overseas and U.S. military personnel must register to vote and request an absentee ballot using the Overseas Voter Foundation. Mail-in ballots that are received after 7 p.m. on Election Day will not be counted.