Grand Canyon Times

After the 2020 election, which triggered unproven allegations of voter fraud in a number of states, including Arizona, legislators in the Grand Canyon State passed Senate Bill 1485, which was signed into law by Gov. Doug Ducey.

The law, which Prescott eNews reported removes Arizona voters from a permanent early voting list if they fail to cast an early ballot in every election for two election cycles. The voters will receive a notice from the state asking if they want to remain on the list. 

If they fail to respond, they are removed from the list, which included approximately 75% of the state’s voters last fall. When signing the bill, Ducey said in a statement that SB 1485 continues the state’s legacy of election integrity. 

“In 1992, our state began offering the ability for Arizonans to vote an absentee ballot,” he said in the statement. “Since then Arizona has continuously improved and refined our election laws ⁠— including intuitively renaming ‘absentee’ voting to ‘early’ voting ⁠— and constantly seeking to strengthen the security and integrity of our elections.”

However, critics across the country are taking aim at legislation passed in several states, arguing these measures will make it harder for some segments of the population to vote. Taking to Twitter, Sen Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) argues this is part of a larger right-wing voter-suppression effort. 

“The push to take away the freedom to vote isn’t some state-by-state organic thing,” Murphy tweeted. “It’s been driven by a handful of anonymous billionaires who don’t like that democracy puts people in power (Democrats) who want to take their power away.”  

Critics maintain that the new law disproportionately affects minority voters, who may not vote in every election but want the option of receiving the early ballot to vote in years that pique their interest. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and the attraction of several high-profile contests saw nearly 90% of voters cast early ballots, according to Tucson.com.

Supporters of the law say the un-voted early ballots could be cast fraudulently, although Arizona state Sen. Kirsten Engel (D-Tucson) pointed out that there is no evidence to support that claim. 

“That is completely made up,’’ she told the website.

A report by First State Times pointed out that Arizona law provides for voters to request mail-in absentee ballots 120 days prior to election. They can make this request as late as 11 days before an election, the website noted, citing a report by Vote 411. The website also noted that Arizona’s laws prohibit ballot harvesting. It does not allow felons to vote, and prohibits automatic voter registration and same-day voter registration. Mail-in ballots cannot be received after Election Day.  

While Arizona and several other states have been under attack for new voter laws, Delaware has some of the most restrictive voting laws, according to The Atlantic, which noted that the state removed a mandate requiring voters to cite a reason for casting an absentee ballot. Moreover, Delaware will roll out early voting for the first time in 2022. 

Delaware has fewer than 1 million people while Arizona's population is more than 7 million. 

It turns out that Murphy’s home state of Connecticut may have some of the most restrictive voting laws in the nation. According to the Hartford Courant, the state offers no early in-person voting and has strict limits on access to absentee ballots. The state, according to the Courant, does not automatically mail absentee ballots. Felons cannot vote during their imprisonment or during parole.

Connecticut has a population of about 3.6 million.