"We are very concerned this would make our teachers felons,'' she said. The measure carries a presumptive one-year prison term for first-time offenders.

Sierra Club lobbyist Sandy Bahr said she has personally taken someone else's ballot to a polling place if there is a chance it would otherwise not arrive on time. Arizona law counts only ballots received by 7 p.m. on election day; those arriving later are not counted even if they are postmarked on time.

And Rep. Lisa Otondo, D-Yuma, said there are portions of her rural district that do not have mail delivery, meaning someone who wants to return an early ballot has to make a special trip to the post office.

But Republican Richard Hopkins of Buckeye, who came in third in the three-way race for the two House seats in that district, told lawmakers that had it not been for such techniques "I would have been a member of this body.''

His proof? He said that the margin of votes for his Democrat foes, including Otondo and Rep. Charlene Fernandez, D-Yuma, were greater in the early ballots, including those he admitted were mailed legitimately. Ultimately, he lost by 188 votes.