A bill that would make it more difficult for Arizonans to drop their ballot off at a dropbox passed the state House Government and Elections Committee on Wednesday.
HB 2241 would require voters in Arizona to show ID when they drop off their early ballot. It would also require a voter to show their own ID and sign an affidavit claiming to be someone’s family member, household member, or caregiver if dropping off someone else’s ballot.
Violation of the rules in the bill, should it become law, would be a class six felony, the least severe felony in Arizona.
Civic Engagement Beyond Voting, a nonpartisan organization, said the bill is unnecessary since Arizonans already need to confirm their identities when signing up for early voting or voting-by-mail. Over 2.4 million Arizonans voted early in the 2020 general election.
State Rep. Jake Hoffman sponsored the bill. He was one of several lawmakers who signed a phony declaration claiming that Arizona electors voted to re-elect Donald Trump in 2020.
Matthew Nelson, a Saddlebrook Ranch resident, spoke in front of the House Government and Elections Committee on Wednesday against HB 2241.
“Arizona has had vote by mail for more than 20 years and it is used by more than 80% of Arizona voters,” Nelson said. “Voters who receive their ballot in the mail have the freedom of many options to return it. They can use the mail service, drop it off at any voting location, or they can drop it off at a secure drop box.”
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey sang praises for Arizona’s vote-by-mail and early voting process in a meeting with then-President Trump on Aug. 5, 2020.
“We’ve been doing this since 1992,” Ducey said. “So over the course of decades, we’ve established a system that works and can be trusted.”
HB 2241 is now headed to the Rules Committee in order to ensure it meets constitutional requirements. If approved there, it will head to the House floor for a vote.
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