From left: Kelly Townsend and Michelle Ugenti-Rita
By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services
State senators voted Tuesday to kill a host of changes in state election laws as a long-simmering dispute between two Republicans spilled out into the open.
And the result was mutually-assured destruction of both their measures.
The fight, playing out on the Senate floor, started when Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, refused to support SB1241. That proposal contained a wish list from Sen. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, of fixes she said needed to be made in how elections are administered.
For example, it sought to set up a procedure for county or state prosecutors to get involved when there is an inconsistency between someone’s signature on an early ballot and what is on file with the county recorder.
It also dealt with a requirement that people who register to vote in Arizona must cancel their registration in the state from which they moved. And it provided that anyone who votes at a polling place get a paper receipt showing their ballot has been accepted.
