Grand Canyon Times

Republican lawmakers in Arizona have put forward a legislative proposal aimed at addressing conflicts with election deadlines and reinforcing voter confidence. The proposed legislation, introduced by Senate and House Republicans, comes after extensive consultations with election experts and administrators from all 15 counties in the state.

The new bill, SB1733/HB2785, seeks to resolve issues that emerged following the enactment of SB1008 in 2022. This earlier law mandated automatic recounts in statewide elections when victory margins were within half of one percentage point. While intended to bolster voter confidence, it led to potential delays that threatened compliance with federal deadlines for mailing ballots to military and overseas citizens, as well as key electoral milestones such as the Safe Harbor deadline and Presidential Electors Meeting.

To mitigate these concerns, the proposed legislation extends the primary election calendar by 19 days and the general election calendar by 17 days. This adjustment aims to provide officials sufficient time to meet federal requirements while ensuring every legal ballot is counted accurately.

Senate Elections Committee Chair Wendy Rogers emphasized the importance of this measure: “This commonsense solution promises to strengthen voter confidence, is backed by all Arizona county recorders, and allows our men and women who are serving in our armed forces overseas the opportunity cast a ballot in our elections.” She expressed hope for bipartisan support and urged the Governor's endorsement to prevent potential electoral disruption.

Representative Alexander Kolodin, sponsor of HB2785, acknowledged alternative simpler solutions but noted that negotiations led to accepting this complex approach for its inclusion of signature verification and other reforms. He remarked on the unlikelihood of encountering such issues in 2024: “It should be noted that the problem this bill seeks to avoid is highly unlikely to occur in 2024.”

For further information regarding this legislative initiative, Kim Quintero from the Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus and Andrew Wilder from the Arizona State House of Representatives Republican Caucus can be contacted via their respective emails.