New legislation would deploy immigration agents to Arizona polling places

Politics

UPDATE: Bill that would send immigration agents to Arizona polling places stalls in state Senate

Wayne Schutsky

A bill that would have required Arizona election officials to bring federal immigration officers to the polls is effectively dead — for now.

A Republican state lawmaker is pushing legislation to deploy federal immigration officers at Arizona polling places this fall.

Claiming it’s necessary to boost public confidence in election security, state Sen. Jake Hoffman’s proposal would require county election officials to coordinate with federal agencies, like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to deploy agents at all voting locations, including ballot drop boxes.

In a statement, the Queen Creek Republican said the agents would have the authority to observe “election activity,” but would be prohibited from interfering with voting.

“Arizonans deserve to know that election laws are not just written in statute but actually enforced in practice,” Hoffman wrote. “For too long, confusion, inconsistency, and a lack of visible accountability have fueled doubts about how elections are administered. This measure establishes clear, uniform standards across every county and brings additional oversight to locations where ballots are cast and collected.”

The proposal comes a week after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asserted at a Phoenix press conference it’s a fact that noncitizens are voting in elections, despite evidence that shows noncitizen voting is exceedingly rare.

Lawmakers are set to consider the bill at a legislative hearing on Wednesday.