GOP House leader guts proposal for weekend voting

A bill to modernize elections that had broad support from both parties ran into a partisan buzz saw last week when the Republican House leader stripped key items such as weekend voting.

The legislation would have allowed Arizona counties with the proper technology to keep early voting centers open from Saturday through Monday before Election Day, giving voters three more days to cast a ballot.

The current prohibition on voting during the weekend dates to when election departments needed time to mark paper rosters by hand to note who cast early ballots before Election Day.

MORE: 140,000 Maricopa County voters haven’t received registration cards

Maricopa County, which serves 2.2 million voters, and other smaller counties now have technology that updates the voter database in real time. The computer system records immediately when someone casts an early ballot, eliminating the need for election officials to close early voting centers the weekend before Election Day to reconcile records.

Bill a rare compromise for county recorders

SB 1466 was a rare compromise between all 15 county recorders — eight Republicans and seven Democrats — as well as the bipartisan County Supervisors Association, Arizona Association of Counties, the Maricopa County Republican Party and left-leaning election reform groups. It unanimously passed the Senate and two House committees.

But Speaker J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, gutted the weekend voting provision and other items Thursday, causing Democrats to revolt.

The amended bill passed the House 34-24 along party lines. It is expected to go to the Senate for a final vote soon.

Democratic lawmakers accused Mesnard of limiting access to the ballot box.

"We really did have an opportunity to make voting more accessible in all of our communities. But instead right now, the bill as amended creates more barriers," said Rep. Athena Salman, D-Tempe. "And in an election year, that's a shame."

Republican recorders who supported the bill said the amendment would hurt voters.

RELATED: Who benefits in Phoenix election changes?

People who work on Election Day want to be able to vote on the weekend, said Yuma County Recorder Robyn Stallworth Pouquette, a Republican.

Staying open on the weekend would let voters update their addresses and other important information so that lines are shorter, the ballot count goes faster and election integrity is stronger on Election Day, she said.

"The more voters I could resolve an issue the weekend before the Tuesday election, that's a certain number of voters who don't have to cast a provisional ballot," Pouquette said. "The technology creates a more secure environment ... to reconcile voters who received an early ballot and voters showing up on Election Day."

Mesnard called "absurd" accusations that the amendment creates barriers to voting since the bill would keep the status quo.

"There is nothing in this bill that makes it harder for people to vote," he said.

Original bill aimed to give supervisors more authority

Mesnard said his goal was returning the bill to its simpler form, before the larger compromise was negotiated with county officials across the state.

Originally, the Maricopa County Republic Party and members of the GOP-led Maricopa County Board of Supervisors pushed for the bill to give supervisors across the state more authority over elections. The amended legislation allows supervisors to choose early voting locations without sign off from recorders.

Preventing recorders from having "crazy amounts of power" by delegating authority to boards is necessary, County GOP Chairman Chris Herring said.

"We don't want a single person, no matter who that is, in any county having sole authority over how 90 percent of voters can vote," he said, referring to the growing popularity of in-person early voting and early mail-in ballots.

Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes told lawmakers in an email urging a "no" vote that he believed the bill was aimed at him.

Since Fontes took over last year as the first Democrat to hold the office in at least 50 years, he has clashed with the Board of Supervisors and Republicans have attempted to limit his power. In recent months, his relationship with the board appeared to improve.

Fontes said other recorders shouldn't be targeted because of him.

'We work in the best interest of the public'

Supervisors don't have the expertise to make election decisions on their own, said both Republican Yuma recorder Pouquette and Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez, a Democrat. They criticized the party politics affecting the bill.

"(Lawmakers) obviously didn't listen to those of us who are dealing with this," Rodriguez said. "We don't get involved in the political thing. We work in the best interest of the public. We are split along party lines. ... The recorders are trying to address the demand of what the public wants."

Legislators who reject bipartisan compromises disillusion voters and "then wonder why so many people are registering as independent," Rodriguez said.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Rick Gray, R-Sun City, said he was willing to sacrifice weekend voting so the legislation would move forward.

"I don't think that's worth fighting over," he said. "The Legislature is full of compromises. There's never anything that goes through 100 percent."

Measures in the bill such as increasing oversight by county supervisors and clarifying antiquated language are important, he said.

"If people want to use it to make political hay, that's unfortunate," he said.

READ MORE: