Ducey signs bill to prohibit changes to election deadlines
A school crossing guard stops cars for voters entering a polling station, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Gov. Doug Ducey on May 24 signed into law a measure that prevents government officials from changing election deadlines established by statutes.
HB2794, sponsored by Rep. Jake Hoffman, R-Gilbert, was created to address changes in voter registration deadlines that occurred during the November 2020 general election.
“This is something that we saw in an unprecedented election,” Hoffman said. “We saw all across the country, including here in Arizona, the attempt to change statutorily prescribed deadlines. This is a bill that says that in Arizona, the legislature as granted by the Constitution of the United States, has the authority for the management and administration of elections; that those deadlines should not be changed, and that if they are there is a penalty for d
AP
Voters cast their ballots using social distancing at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, Tuesday, April 28, 2020, in Cleveland.
Voting rights advocates are still pushing back on a recently introduced House bill that would change and restrict election laws in Ohio. Republican backers of the measure say the changes are needed to improve election laws even though they say Ohio’s 2020 election was fraud-free.
The Ohio Voter Rights Coalition said it’s concerned the bill limits ballot drop boxes to one per county and only for 10 days before the election, shortens the window to request absentee ballots by a week, requires what they call a confusing voter ID process and cuts in-person early voting the day before the election. Kayla Griffin with All Voting Is Local said the bill will affect early voting turnout and access.
Voting rights advocates are still pushing back on a recently introduced House bill that would change and restrict election laws in Ohio. Republican backers
Election clerks support the concept of early in-person voting, but “one day is just not sufficient,” Farmington Hills Clerk Pam Smith told lawmakers on the Senate Elections Committee, where she testified on behalf of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks.
Allowing just one weekend day, with hours different than those on the traditional Election Day, “could cause voter confusion,” and it would create new costs for local communities without any new funding, Smith said.
Seeking to curb long lines on Election Day and provide voters with additional options to cast ballots, 24 states now offer some form of early and in-person voting and allow an average of 19 days, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.