GOP lawmakers ask Ariz. gov to outlaw something already illegal

Gov. asked to outlaw something already illegal

PHOENIX — Republican lawmakers are asking Gov. Doug Ducey to sign a bill they concede has no practical effect.

Legislation on the governor’s desk would make it illegal to allow someone to register to vote on Election Day. Rep. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, called such registration a “very distrustful process.’’

Only thing is, that’s not legal now. Anyone who has not registered at least 29 days before the election cannot cast a ballot.

And Sen. Martin Quezada, D-Glendale, pointed out during Senate debate this week that this measure does not — and cannot — tie the hands of future legislators who, if they have the votes, would be free to repeal it.

But that didn’t stop Hoffman from getting his Republican colleagues in both the House and Senate to approve a ban. The bill awaiting action by the Republican governor includes the threat of a year in state prison for anyone who registers someone on Election Day and allows them to vote.

As it turns out, voters — at least those who do get registered a minimum of 29 days ahead of this year’s Nov. 8 general election — could get the last word.

Petitions are now being gathered on an initiative proposal seeking major changes in voting laws. It includes a specific provision to not only allow same-day registration but to automatically sign people up to vote when they get an Arizona driver’s license.

Hoffman does not dispute that no one can now register and vote on the same day. But he argued to colleagues that his legislation is needed.

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“Same-day voter registration is not something that the majority of Arizonans want,’’ he said.

Rep. Sarah Liguori, D-Phoenix, asked him how he determined that to be true.

“That’s me opining,’’ Hoffman responded.

He wasn’t dissuaded by the fact it can’t now happen without a change in state law. “Legislators don’t always have to wait for problems to come before they address them,’’ Hoffman said.

Quezada saw a different motive behind the measure. “This is just a political platform to expound upon the Big Lie that our elections are not safe and that our voter registration procedures are not legitimate,’’ he said.

Arizona should be moving in the opposite direction, Quezada said.

“There are multiple other states that have adopted same-day voter registration and have had great success with that process,’’ he said. “People are mobile, people move, especially in certain communities, communities of color. In my district, people are moving all the time, especially with the rising rent prices right now.’’

Ducey, who has not vetoed any of the Republican-backed election bills that has come to his desk this session, has through Monday to decide what to do with this one.