Today’s Links
Articles:
Vote.Org – Voter Registration Check Tool
Democracy Docket – U.S. District Court Decision on Arizona Senate Bill 1260
Arizona Mirror – Voting groups fight to block law that can criminalize Arizona voter registration
USA.gov – Find Your Local Election Office
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – REGISTER AND VOTE IN YOUR STATE
Groups Taking Action:
Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, Voto Latino, Fair Fight
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
This week we’ve been talking about registering to vote, as we approach state deadlines to register before the 2022 midterms. September 26th, parts of a sketchy Arizona voter registration law were preliminarily stopped, in a likely victory for voters. But it’s also a reminder for all voters to check their registration status with their local election office.
Arizona Senate Bill 1260, signed into law earlier in 2022, has provisions which make it a felony to assist voters who are registered outside the state but who are now eligible to register in Arizona – sending them registration information, for instance. The law also allows election officials to “cancel & remove” a registered voter from receiving a mail ballot without contacting the voter, if they only suspect that John Smith is registered elsewhere.
In a preliminary ruling, the U.S. District Court judge, G. Murray Snow, said that the Arizona law prohibited the providing of a “mechanism for voting,” by groups or individuals, but didn’t define the term. Snow also ruled that the provision which allowed for cancellation and removal of a registered voter from the mail ballot list without personal follow up was unconstitutionally vague, could disenfranchise voters, and would likely violate the National Voting Rights Act.
Now is a great time to check your voter registration status. We have a link to Vote.org’s registration check tool on AmericanDemocracyMinute.org Doing it now gives you the time to follow up with your local election officials before the midterms if there’s a problem.
Granny D said, “Democracy is not something we HAVE, it’s something we DO!” For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.