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PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Republicans are pushing to create criminal penalties for election workers and volunteers who deviate from procedures and to give prosecutors all mail ballots rejected for signature problems.
Those provisions are part of a sweeping elections measure debated in the House on Tuesday ahead of a possible vote in the coming days as lawmakers rush to end the legislative session.
Democrats and voting rights advocates said the threat of criminal penalties will create a chilling effect on election workers and voters. The measure is advancing as Republican-controlled states push to enact more restrictive voting laws following former President Donald Trump’s 2020 loss. Trump and many of his staunch supporters have pushed unfounded allegations that the election was marred by fraud.
“Arizonans should be able to vote and make our voices heard without being subject to harassment, intimidation and criminal scrutiny,” a coalition of liberal groups and voting rights advocacy organizations wrote in a statement, which also called the bill “a real threat to Arizona’s ability to conduct free and fair elections going forward.”
The measure adopts a series of election changes pushed by Sen. Kelly Townsend, a Republican from Mesa. Republicans say they will bolster confidence in elections.
