Judge keeps election reform measure that could affect mail-in voting on Arizona ballot

A Maricopa County judge upheld an election reform proposal sent to the ballot by Republican lawmakers that critics claim could be used to undermine mail-in voting, an option used by most voters across Arizona.

HCR 2001 would make a host of changes to the state’s election laws, including those that were previously vetoed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. The measure passed the Arizona Legislature along party lines in the final days of the legislative session in June and will appear on the ballot as Proposition 144.

Before the final vote on the legislation, Rep. Alexander Kolodin, who sponsored the measure and is now running for secretary of state, said it was the culmination of his commitment to work on “making our elections more secure.”

But critics claimed the measure is a veiled attempt to undermine the mail-in voting system, because HCR 2001, if approved by voters, would require every Arizonan to show an ID before voting.

Arizonans are already required to show an ID to register to vote and to vote in person. But HCR 2001 would also require anyone who votes by mail to show an ID.

“I think that's the crux of the issue ... how do you do that?” said Tempe Councilman Randy Keating, who filed a lawsuit challenging the measure. “You send in a photocopy of your ID along with your ballot? There's been talk of having to bring your ballot to a ballot center and show ID.”

“Well, then we're getting rid of the whole point of mail-in voting,” he added.

Arizonans can already show an ID when dropping off an early ballot in person rather than have that ballot validated through the signature verification process — an option that proved popular during this July’s primary.

But Arizonans who choose to mail back their ballot do not currently have to show proof of citizenship, because election officials use that signature verification process to certify their ballot.

In his lawsuit, Keating argued that the proposal ties together too many unrelated measures alongside the new ID requirement, which would violate the Separate Amendment Rule. That’s a law barring state Constitutional amendments from dealing with multiple unrelated subjects.

In addition to the ID requirement, HCR 2001 includes a host of other changes, including redundant requirements that are already included in Arizona law. For instance, the measure would state that only U.S. citizens can vote in Arizona elections — which is mandated under state law.

The proposal would also ban foreign nationals from contributing to efforts to influence campaigns in Arizona and give the Legislature broad latitude to change election laws in the future to speed up vote counting and maintain election security.

Keating claims the measure couples popular provisions — like barring non-citizens from voting — with less popular changes, like requiring ID for mail-in voting, to confuse voters.

“We're not voting on a single question here. We're voting on a package of things that some people may like and some people may not like, but there's no way to differentiate,” Keating said. “And yes, I am very worried that this is on the ballot. People see you should show ID to register to vote or what have you, and then not realize that they're voting away their vote by mail privileges probably forever.”

But Judge Adele Ponce found coupling all of those provisions into a single amendment is allowed under the law, because they all deal with “election integrity.”

“Each aims to improve election integrity,” the judge said. “The fact that the proposed amendment’s provisions address different aspects of election security does not prevent them from being topically related.”

Keating has appealed the ruling to the Arizona Supreme Court.