A battle is underway for the future of voting rights in Arizona, featuring Democratic lawmakers who want to expand voting opportunities fighting with Republican lawmakers who want to add new restrictions.
The Phoenix New Times reports, Arizona Legislators Launch Dueling Proposals on Voting Rights and Elections:
Democratic legislators unveiled a House resolution on Thursday that would create an “Arizona voters bill of rights,” and promised legislation to expand access to the ballot. At the same time, Republicans, who are in the majority, filed a flurry of bills during the first days of the legislative session that could make it more difficult for people to vote.
Representative Reginald Bolding of Phoenix, the Democratic co-whip, said at a Capitol news conference that Arizona law needs to include clear language on the right to vote.
“Over the last several years in this state, we’ve seen the headlines, we’ve read the stories, and unfortunately many of us have witnessed or experienced the attempts to put barriers or inefficiencies in place for individuals to participate in democracy through casting their vote,” Bolding said.
The proposed Democratic resolution on a “voters bill of rights” says that all voters in Arizona have the right to vote without facing unnecessary barriers, no matter where they live or what language they speak. Voters also have the right to propose and enact laws, vote by mail, and know that their elected officials are working for voters and not donors or lobbyists, the resolution says.
