By AZ Mirror
The first bill introduced in the Arizona Senate for next year’s legislative session aims to add new restrictions for voters who return early ballots to polling places, including limiting the amount of time they have to do so.
The prospects for the legislation are dim, however, given that Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed an identical proposal earlier this year.
Senate Bill 1001 would require that voters who drop off their ballot after the Friday before Election Day provide identification to do so. Maricopa County alone saw over 225,000 early ballots dropped off on Election Day this year.
Chandler Republican Sen. J.D. Mesnard introduced the legislation, which is a carbon-copy of the bill he sponsored last session that Hobbs vetoed. He told the Arizona Mirror that he introduced an identical bill to have a “good starting point” and hopes to negotiate with others to get it passed in some form.
“I’ve heard some comments that were not giving me a lot of hope from the Governor’s Office on her willingness to address this issue,” Mesnard said, adding that he hopes Hobbs will come to the table to find a version of the bill they can all agree on.
A spokesman for Hobbs did not respond to a request for comment.
The bill is a reaction to the speed at which Arizona counts its ballots, according to Mesnard. Many, including Mesnard and other local Republicans, have often lamented that Arizona’s dayslong post-election ballot counting isn’t as efficient as Florida, which posts the vast majority of its election results by the end of election night.
Arizona, particularly Maricopa County, can take considerably longer to post final results.
