Arizona pisses away hundreds of thousands of dollars on two-tiered election system

A decision in Kobach et al. v. U.S. Election Assistance Commission is still pending before the 10th circuit Court of Appeals. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals oral argument in Kobach v. U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

But the results of Arizona’s unconstitutional experimentation with the deprivation of the franchise to vote of U.S. Citizens in its primary election for having registered to vote with the federal voter registration form  are now known.

Arizona Secretary of State Ken “Birther” Bennett, relying on nothing more than an Attorney General opinion from Tom “banned for life by the SEC” Horne, forced Arizona’s counties and the state to piss away hundreds of thousands of dollars on a two-tiered election system that resulted in — 21 ballots.

The AP reports, Just 21 Arizona voters used new two-tier system:

Just 21 voters statewide who registered using a federal form for Arizona elections were forced to only vote for federal candidates in the Aug. 26 primary, Secretary of State Ken Bennett said Monday.

Bennett created the system last year after the U.S. Supreme Court said Arizona can’t require additional identification from voters using the federal “motor-voter” form. Attorney General Tom Horne said that conflicted with state law requiring proof of citizenship.

So Arizona let people who didn’t provide ID vote just for federal races, meaning they couldn’t vote for statewide officers such as the governor or state legislators. Instead, those who registered using only the federal form were given ballots with only U.S. House of Representatives races on them.

Critics say the system creates unnecessary barriers to voting and that creating a two-tiered voting system is expensive, burdensome for voters and unnecessary, despite the low number of people affected.

“I don’t necessarily think that means it was greatly exaggerated,” said Alessandra Soler, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona. “I think the bigger picture is the dual system was never needed in the first place. So the state is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for this bifurcated system that was burdensome and costly.”

Arizona’s 15 counties were forced to print special ballots for voters who might show up at the polls having not responded to outreach efforts to provide proof of citizenship. Maricopa County alone is spending about $250,000 on special ballots for this year’s primary and general elections.

Statewide, the number is likely a few hundred thousand dollars, Bennett said.

Of the 21 voters who used the special ballot, eight were in Maricopa County, seven in Pima, five in Yavapai and one in Yuma.

Hopefully the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals will rule soon to prevent a repeat of this farce in the November general election. The 21 voters deprived of their franchise to vote in the primary election have a claim against the state of Arizona. Arizona’s counties should also sue the state for reimbursement of expenses.