Standing Up to Voter Suppression in Arizona
10,457. That’s the number keeping Arizona Republican leaders up at night.
Thanks to incredible organizing, hundreds of thousands of dedicated voters across the state, and a robust mail-in voting system, Joe Biden carried Arizona by just 10,457 votes. This small margin played a big role in making sure that Trump became a one-term president.
Because of Arizona’s record voter turnout, Republican lawmakers are already on the move, trying to suppress the vote. They’ve introduced over 30 bills to restrict voting access in the state.
And if we don’t do something about it now, they could win. It’s up to us to make sure voter suppression doesn’t become the law of the state.
We’ve already seen some progress. With your help, the Stand Up America community — alongside LUCHA, All Voting Is Local Action Arizona, Progress Arizona, Arizona Advocacy Network, Our Voice, Our Vote, and others — was able to defeat a bill which would have purged over 125,000 voters from the Permanent Early Voting List or PEVL.
But our fight is far from over. There are still dozens of voter suppression laws waiting in the wings, ready to bar Arizonans — many of whom are voters of color — from the ballot box.
For example, Republicans in the state legislature have introduced a bill that would require voters who don’t have a driver’s license or state ID to make photocopies of certain identifying documents and submit them along with their completed ballots. This provision would have a devastating impact on the votes of the elderly, the poor, tribal communities, people with disabilities, students, and voters of color. And as outrageous as the idea of needing a photocopier in order to vote sounds, this bill is already moving through the legislature! They’ve also introduced a bill to invalidate mail-in ballots if they are not postmarked five days before an election. And they’ve even resurrected their efforts to purge over 125,000 Arizonans from the PEVL, after we defeated a similar measure just a few weeks ago.
The bottom line is this: The legislative support for changes designed to make voting harder and more confusing is there. We need to do everything in our power to stop it.
These are just a few examples of the voter suppression bills flooding the Arizona state legislature right now. We’re watching this closely, so stay tuned for more information and updates on bills in the Arizona legislature. We’ll be sending out communications for our Arizona members about how to take action and plug into this fight.