Tea-Publicans are putting the monster of HB 2305 back together

When the Tea-Publicans in the Arizona legislature passed the GOP Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305, thousands of Arizonans rose up and collected enough signatures to refer HB 2305 to the 2014 ballot as a referendum (citizens veto).

A frightened GOP then repealed HB 2305 last year, effectively rendering the referendum moot, so that the referendum would not appear on the ballot — itself an act of voter suppression —  so that angry voters would not turn out to vote on the measure.

Sadly, it worked. Arizona had the lowest voter turnout in many years in 2014.

I warned you at the time that these evil GOP bastards would be back with HB 2305 in the next legislature, and this time they would break it up into separate bills s that Arizonans would have a hard time exercising their right to a citizens referendum. This is exactly what the Tea-Publicans in the Arizona legislature are doing.

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports, GOP passes bills with elements from repealed election law:

Republican lawmakers have approved key provisions of a sweeping Arizona election law that the Legislature abandoned last year after opponents took steps to repeal it.

State Republicans advanced three bills over the past month that create strict compliance for voter referendums and recalls, limit the ability of third-party candidates to run for office, and publish election volunteer information as public record.

The proposals echo provisions of the 2013 election law that the Legislature repealed in 2014 after opponents collected more than 146,000 signatures in a move to put the measures before voters.

At the time, Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, said he wouldn’t push a piecemeal effort to revive the laws, but he couldn’t guarantee that others would not do so.

Now, Republicans are doing just that, said Robbie Sherwood, executive director for ProgressNow Arizona, a nonprofit advocacy organization.

“They’re trying to put the monster back together, but one piece at a time,” Sherwood said. “They are hoping nobody notices.”

One bill by Sen. Don Shooter, R-Yuma, requires any community volunteers who collect more than 10 early ballots and deliver them to polls to provide photo identification that would be made publicly available online.

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Senate Bill 1340 (.pdf), which passed on a 16-12 vote and now moves to the House, would only apply to volunteers dropping off early ballots, a point Sen. Martin Quezada, D-Phoenix, brought up in floor debate.

“What is the state interest that is being served by this bill?” Quezada said. “I think that raises some other issues about privacy, and the privacy of those volunteers.”

Sherwood said the bill is similar to provisions in the 2013 law that discouraged civic engagement.

“We think that is an attempt to throw a huge wet blanket on those volunteer turnout groups in Latino communities,” Sherwood said.

A bill by Rep. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, limits the ability of third-party candidates to get the signatures required to run for office.

House Bill 2608 (.pdf) by Rep. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, limits the ability of third-party candidates to get the signatures required to run for office.

The bill creates a minimum threshold to put the candidate on the ballot and changes the requirements for signatures to allow voters from any party to sign for any candidate.

Previously, third-party candidates only needed a certain number of signatures from voters within their own party. Now they’ll need to meet a minimum threshold for voters in their district.

Mesnard said any third party would still require far fewer signatures than either Democrats or Republicans.

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House Bill 2608 passed through the House on a 35-23 vote along party lines and now moves to the Senate.

A bill by Rep. David Stevens, R-Sierra Vista, modifies requirements for voter referendums and recalls, and requires voters to strictly comply with them.

House Bill 2608 passed through the House on a 35-23 vote along party lines and now moves to the Senate.

A bill by Rep. David Stevens, R-Sierra Vista, modifies requirements for voter referendums and recalls, and requires voters to strictly comply with them. [This would eliminate the long-standing rule of “substantial compliance,” which rejects hyper-technical defects, e.g., type size, line spacing, incomplete dates. etc., in the interest of preserving the right of voters to citizens initiatives and referendums.]

Stevens said the House Bill 2407 (.pdf) clarifies a process for voters to follow and eliminates ambiguity on behalf of county recorders.

The bill passed through the House on a 36-24 vote along party lines and now moves to the Senate.

Sandy Bahr, executive director of the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter, said the law currently allows for substantial compliance, meaning that if someone accidentally makes a mistake, it won’t automatically be thrown out.

“I think the Legislature needs to be pretty careful with how far they go with over regulating direct democracy,” she said.

The Senate voted to kill Citizens Clean Elections last week, and now it is moving through the House. The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports, House committee OKs bill for voters to kill Clean Elections:

A House committee has passed a measure asking voters to eliminate the Citizens Clean Elections Commission.

The voter referral sponsored by Republican Sen. Steve Pierce of Prescott passed the House Elections Committee on a 6-2 vote Monday. The bill moves to a floor vote pending a standard review.

The committee also passed an amendment by Republican Rep. Michelle Ugenti of Scottsdale that gives the commission’s $9 million to the general fund rather than schools.

The question would be on the 2016 ballot if the House approves SCR1001 (.pdf).