By Nick Phillips and Camryn Sanchez | Arizona Capitol
Republican lawmakers fell short in their efforts to revamp election laws this session but could have a much better chance of success in 2023.
Legislators introduced more than 135 election bills this session, with 13 making it into law. The other 91% of bills either failed, never made it to a vote where they would have failed, or – in one case – were vetoed.
Most of the session’s election bills were introduced by Republicans, several of whom believe that former President Trump won the 2020 election, including Sen. Sonny Borrelli, R-Lake Havasu, Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, and Rep. John Fillmore, R-Apache Junction.
Democrats condemned these bills as anti-Democratic and accused Republicans of attempting to disenfranchise voters by making it harder to cast a ballot.
Sen. Paul Boyer, R-Glendale, and Democrats were responsible for killing several of this year’s election bills, at one point voting down 14 in one day. Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, also voted against some of the bills, which she said contradicted and overlapped with one another.
Next year, more than 27 of the Legislature’s 90 members will be gone. Republicans are expected to gain more seats in the next election, or at the very least hold their majorities due to redistricting that created a high number of Republican districts, and a larger number of Republican candidates running.
