The Arizona State House voted on Thursday overwhelmingly in favor of a “landmark” election integrity bill that would set the state’s official standards for signature verification and promote the use of voter ID in early voting, among other improvements to the state’s voting system.
State Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale), who sponsored the legislation, celebrated the passage of HB 2785 on Thursday in a press release that declared the law will bring “landmark election integrity reforms.”
The Arizona House of Representatives’ press release explained that the bill provides “a comprehensive solution to correct election deadline conflicts, allowing Arizona to complete its election tasks by the federal deadline.” The press release explains the bill also includes “critical election integrity reforms to improve election procedures and strengthen voter confidence.”
HB 2785, which passed the Arizona House with 56 votes in favor and just two votes against, features provisions including “[r]obust legally binding signature verification standards in law for the first time in Arizona,” the promotion of “greater use of ID when voting early,” and places Arizona’s political parties “on an equal playing field when curing ballots,” according to the House press release.
Additionally, the bill protects the ability of Arizonans serving overseas in the military to vote. It ensures Arizona will submit its electoral college votes according to standards set by the federal government.
In a statement, Kolodin hinted at difficulties he experienced while crafting an election integrity bill that Governor Katie Hobbs might sign.
“Politics is the art of the possible, and when Republicans stick together, we can achieve the impossible, like getting Katie Hobbs to sign real election reforms into law,” stated Kolodin.
He added, “Arizona’s voters can rest assured that the 2024 election will be more secure, free, and fair than those that have gone before.”
On X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Kolodin posted an image showing the bill’s overwhelming victory with the caption, “Election fraud prevention is not a partisan issue!”
Election fraud prevention is not a partisan issue (again)! pic.twitter.com/XYm1yg4GVH
— Rep. Alexander Kolodin (@realAlexKolodin) February 8, 2024
Still, some grassroots activists warned an earlier version of the bill did not do enough to curb ballot harvesting and claimed loopholes could have codified two examples of ballot harvesting into Arizona law.
State Representative Austin Smith (R-Surprise) posted a video to X, including State Representative Rachel Jones (R-Tucson), that the bill represents a significant step in the right direction for election integrity.
HB2785 passed the Arizona House of Representatives. @RJ4arizona
– Robust legally binding signature verification standards in law for first time in Arizona.
– Puts political parties on an equal playing field when curing ballots.
– Promotes greater use of ID when voting early.… pic.twitter.com/hbquFJYe5d
— Rep. Austin Smith (@azaustinsmith) February 8, 2024
Smith said, “Election integrity is a paramount issue; we’re going to always be on top of it; we’re always going to be making sure that we listen to the grassroots first before making any decisions about how we should go with election integrity.”
Addressing the grassroots concerns directly, Jones added, “Those specific loopholes that you were asking us, with fury, to change today and make sure we close, we did close those in this bill.”
SB 1733, the Senate counterpart to Kolodin’s bill sponsored by State Senator Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff), is similarly expected to pass the Arizona State Senate with bipartisan support.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
