PHOENIX — It’s being billed as a method to get more rapid election results.
But a measure awaiting Senate debate would strip people who get early ballots in the mail of the option to hang on to them until the last minute and then simply drop them off at a polling place on Election Day.
SB1135 would require last-minute voters who received early ballots to stand in line, surrender the early ballot, produce identification and then wait their turn to fill in the ballot again.
No ID? They would have to go home and get it if they want that new ballot to be counted.
State Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, is pushing for the change. He noted that early ballots dropped off at polling places can’t be counted until after all other ballots are tallied and that slows up results.
If people want the convenience of early ballots, Kavanagh said, they would still have the option of mailing them back — so long as that mail arrived at county offices by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
But there’s something else at play. Many Republican lawmakers contend early balloting is subject to fraud. Kavanagh sketched out a scenario where his early ballot might be stolen by “an election fraudster’’ who picked it up while repairing his air conditioning.
He and other foes of early voting are unconvinced by requirements that county election officials compare the signature on the ballot envelope with the voters’ signatures already on file.
“That is unreliable,’’ Kavanagh said.
Popular option with voters
Only thing is, efforts to outlaw early voting entirely have not gained traction at the Legislature, at least in part because nearly 90% of Arizonans like to have that option. Lawsuits by the Arizona Republican Party to have the process declared illegal have faltered.
SB1135 would give early voting foes a partial victory by reducing the number of early ballots cast.
If lawmakers approve, it would end an option used by hundreds of thousands of Arizonans who get early ballots but want to wait until the last possible minute to vote. Even former Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, showed up at his polling place on Election Day last year with his early ballot already sealed in its envelope.
At least part of the issue comes down to the question of convenience versus speedy returns.
This past election more than 290,000 residents of Maricopa County alone decided not to put their early ballots in the mail or place them in drop boxes, deciding instead to take them directly to polling places.
Some of that was due to exhortations by Kelli Ward, then the chair of the Arizona Republican Party, that people should “wait in line and vote in person.’’ That plugged into claims by former President Donald Trump and others that early voting was inherently insecure and subject to fraud.
But early ballots brought to polling places are not counted until after those that are voted in person are tallied. That delay in final counts for more than a week only added fuel to claims that there was something amiss in the process. Those claims are still being pursued by some unsuccessful GOP candidates, despite court rulings there’s no evidence of such fraud.
Kavanagh wants to effectively eliminate those same-day drop-offs of early ballots.
People could still show up at polling places with early ballots. But then the ballots would be “spoiled’’ — made uncountable — and the voter would be handed a new ballot after presenting the same identification already required of those who go to the polls now.
Sen. Priya Sundareshan, D-Tucson, said she’s not sure the change is appropriate.
“It would be taking away the option that many people currently understand is a way to quickly get your ballot dropped off on the day of the election,’’ she said.
Voters ‘can’t have it both ways’
Kavanagh, however, disputes the idea that early ballots are meant to be dropped off.
“Early ballots come with a return envelope,’’ he said. “It’s clear that the purpose of the early ballot is to give people the convenience of not having to go into a polling place. When you take the early ballot option and instead show up on Election Day, you’re simply slowing down the election and causing more work at the polling place, which further slows down the actions of other people who are there.’’
He said people need to decide whether they want to vote early or vote on Election Day.
“You can’t have it both ways,’’ Kavanagh said. “It’s causing confusion at the polls and it’s slowing election results.’’
Sundareshan wasn’t buying the argument that those “late-early ballots’’ gum up the works at polling places.
“You walk in with that early ballot in the envelope as signed and you simply drop it off,’’ she said. “There is no standing in line as would now need to occur’’ under Kavanagh’s plan,’’ Sundareshan continued. “You would have to spoil it, have to provide ID, have to then vote a standard ballot.’’
Kavanagh said she is missing his point. “The main logjam is election results,’’ he said. “We waited for days with elections being undetermined. And people don’t want that.’’
‘Why would I have your ballot?’
What was not discussed, however, is there are those who, despite getting an early ballot by mail, purposely wait until the last minute — and not just to see whether there is any late-breaking news about a candidate.
In the 2016 Republican presidential preference primary, Marco Rubio dropped out a week before Election Day. That left Rubio supporters who voted early out of luck as there is no way to recall and re-vote those mail-in early ballots.
Another issue is that Kavanagh crafted SB1135 in a way to require those who now show up with early ballots in signed, sealed envelopes to not just have to exchange them for regular ballots but also to produce identification. That is not now required of those who simply drop off their early ballots.
Kavanagh made it clear that, issues of delayed election results aside, he doesn’t like that voters can drop off ballots without showing ID.
“If you don’t have ID, we don’t even know if that’s your early ballot,’’ he said. “How do I know you didn’t find that early ballot on the street or you stole it from a friend’s house?’’
“Why would I have your ballot?’’ asked Sen. Juan Mendez, D-Tempe.
“Because you’re an election fraudster,’’ Kavanagh responded. “You stole it from my house when you were repairing my air conditioner.’’
Mendez asked, “So this whole bill is from the idea that someone’s going to rob you of your ballot and go try to drop it off?’’
Mendez noted that under the current situation, people who sign a request can get an early ballot in the mail once county election officials determine they are eligible to vote. And regardless of whether it is mailed back or dropped off, that ballot is not counted until those same county election officials compare the signature on the envelope with others from the voter they have on file.
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