By Mary Jo Pitzl | The Republic | azcentral
A House panel took the first step Thursday toward repealing a controversial election law that opponents had successfully referred to voters on the November ballot.
On a 4-2 vote, the House Judiciary Committee repealed last year’s package of election changes over the objections of referendum supporters, who say they want their referendum — a repeal of sorts — to proceed because they don’t trust the Legislature will leave elections procedures untouched.
“We do not want to see it repealed and re-enacted piecemeal, and that does seem to be the intent,” Sandy Bahr told committee members. Bahr is a member of the coalition that gathered the 146,000 signatures needed to repeal last year’s House Bill 2305.
But Chairman Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, said the repeal should give referendum backers what they want: A halt to the bill which they fought last year and which passed in the waning hours of the legislative session.
