by admin | Mar 24, 2022 | Elections, News and Updates
Arizona voters received a big win yesterday. The State Senate passed HB2492 less than a month after the House did the same. And now this critical bill heads to Governor Ducey’s desk to be signed into state law.
This is a big win toward restoring the integrity of Arizona’s elections. HB2492 will safeguard our state’s voter rolls and ensure only U.S. citizens are voting in our elections. You would think this sort of legislation is something everyone could get behind. But apparently, the Democrats have a vested interest in allowing non-citizens to vote in our elections.
That’s why they’ve been spreading lies about HB2492 for months.
At first, Democrats tried to argue that the bill is unconstitutional. But it isn’t. So, they changed tactics and began saying that it will require all voters, or at least millions, to reregister. This is also untrue.
But that didn’t stop the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (ADLCC) from comparing HB2492 to a bill introduced in Oklahoma. Of course, there’s a problem with this so-called “evidence.” The Oklahoma bill would require every voter to reregister:
“Effective December 31, 2023, to be eligible to vote in any state or federal election, all eligible voters shall be required to reregister to vote.”
But the ADLCC won’t be able to point to a provision like that in HB2492. You know why? Because it doesn’t exist.
Their real problem with the bill is that it unwinds over a decade of stealth legal attacks on Arizona’s ability to ensure only lawful U.S. citizens can vote. HB accomplishes this by:
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- Taking Arizona back to the practice of rejecting state voter registration applications that do not include proof of citizenship.
- Requiring counties to check multiple databases for evidence of citizenship when an individual submits a federal application without proof.
- Requiring counties to reject those federal applications if they find evidence that the individual is, in fact, not a U.S. citizen.
Additionally, HB2492 makes proof of citizenship a requirement to vote early by mail in any election and to vote in Presidential elections. Clearly, the left knows how impactful this bill will be. But instead of stating the obvious, as some do (that this will make it harder for illegals to participate in our elections), they make outlandish claims with no basis in reality.
HB 2492 isn’t the only election integrity bill that the left has been spreading lies about. They used these same tactics against the Arizonans for Voter ID Act—a reaction to lawmakers successfully placing it on the ballot for the November election.
For example, they were making the absurd claim that it will lead to thousands of mail-in ballots being rejected because counties don’t have the proper information to check the ID of each voter. The truth is that the overwhelming majority of individuals currently on the Active Early Voter list already have the identification information required by the initiative in their registration file, and there is ample time for the counties to complete voter education drives—as they should. Not to mention the existing five-day cure period during which a voter can correct or supply any missing information.
Thankfully, we are very confident voters are seeing through the misinformation campaigns. In fact, despite constant lies and fearmongering about commonsense election reforms, support among voters has actually increased. Yesterday, Arizona’s Republican lawmakers proved that they are listening. Now, it’s up to Governor Ducey to follow in their footsteps by signing HB2492 into law.
Tell Governor Ducey to sign HB2492 into law!
HB2492 is necessary to safeguard our voter rolls, ensure only qualified applicants are registered and voting in our elections, and assert our constitutional power to determine voter qualifications. Stand for election integrity today.
Tell Governor Ducey to protect our voter rolls and sign HB2492 into law!
by admin | Mar 3, 2022 | Elections, News and Updates
This week got off to a great start. On Monday, the Arizona House passed HB2492, a bill that would safeguard our voter rolls by ensuring that only qualified, U.S. citizens are registered to vote, able to vote in Presidential elections, and eligible to vote by mail.
But the good news didn’t stop there.
The House also passed SCR1012, known as the Arizonans for Voter ID Act. And with the Senate already passing this ballot referral late last week, that means the people of Arizona will now get to decide on universal voter ID in November.
This is an important step to ensure the integrity of our elections. “Easy to vote and hard to cheat” should be the benchmark for every election we have. And in Arizona, voters certainly have many ways to exercise their vote, including day-of-polls, early voting, and mail-in voting.
But the security of our elections has been a different story—as the audit report showed this past September. Universal voter ID here in Arizona would help solve this critical issue. If passed by the voters in this November’s election, this initiative would:
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- Improve existing in-person voter ID requirements.
- Establish voter ID for mail-in ballots.
- Deter ballot harvesting by enhancing voter ID requirements for in-person ballot drop off.
- Provide a free voter ID option to lawfully registered Arizona voters who need it for voting.
This is a common-sense approach to election integrity that’s being increasingly implemented around the country. And it ensures that no matter when you vote, where you vote, or how you vote, identification will be required.
As you might expect, some Democrat leaders are having a meltdown, most especially Sen. Martín Quezada (D-LD29), who couldn’t help but tweet that not everyone has access to an ID. Apparently, Sen. Quezada didn’t read the bill because, as we mentioned above, this initiative gives every citizen access to a free voter ID.
But we do have to ask. If Sen. Quezada and other Democrats are so concerned about this, why don’t they also have a problem with other daily activities that require basic identification? The people of Arizona already have to provide ID for things like purchasing alcohol or cigarettes, obtaining a driver’s license, boarding a commercial flight, donating blood, opening a bank account, purchasing a firearm, receiving unemployment benefits, obtaining auto insurance, purchasing or renting a home, and more.
Isn’t the security of our elections equally—if not more important—than each of these?
Perhaps what’s most eye-opening is that Democrat leaders pushing back against universal voter ID are actually pushing back against their very own people.
Statewide polling from April of last year shows that an overwhelming majority of Arizona voters support voter ID requirements, including every race and ethnicity. And even a large majority of Democrats, 69%, support the idea of requiring all voters to provide ID prior to voting.
Now the people of Arizona will get a chance to decide once and for all this November. And if they want to protect the ballot of every qualified Arizona voter, they should choose to make universal voter ID a reality in our state.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
Join our FREE Grassroots Action List to stay up to date on the latest battles against big government and how YOU can help influence crucial bills at the Arizona State Legislature.
by admin | Feb 17, 2022 | Elections, News and Updates
The Left is determined to shove their so-called “election reforms” down the throats of the American people. After gaining control of Congress, the US House passed House Resolution 1 (HR1) in March of last year.
But their federal takeover of elections has been held up in the U.S. Senate for months, so they have moved to ‘Plan B’—taking over the election process in Arizona.
Earlier this month, a group called the Arizonans for Free and Fair Elections—which is nothing more than a consortium of liberal groups here in Arizona—dropped a ballot initiative that might as well be a leftist wish list of election law changes. But while they’ll tell you that this measure is about “expanding voting rights,” make no mistake. Just like with HR1, this ballot measure is about eliminating all meaningful safeguards in our voting process.
Take a look at the actual ballot language and see for yourself. Some of the provisions in this bill include:
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- Stipulating that anyone who applies for an Arizona driver’s license will be automatically registered to vote.
- Providing for same-day registration on election day.
- Making it easier for illegal immigrants to register and vote.
- Expanding taxpayer funding of political campaigns.
- Repealing Arizona’s ballot harvesting ban.
- Expanding and protecting early voting in Arizona.
- Allowing for people to vote not just out of precinct, but out of county.
- Implementing campaign finance law changes that violate our free speech rights.
- Increasing taxes on Arizona business owners. (Because…of course. Raising taxes on businesses will somehow improve our election process.)
Think about what this could mean for the future of our elections. In 2018, over 1,700 individuals in Arizona who had not provided Documented Proof of Citizenship voted in elections for federal office. But in 2020, the number of individuals ballooned to 11,600! A ballot measure like this would potentially make it even easier for illegals to vote and cultivate fraud.
It’s clear that the left is using this Arizona-based version of HR1 to attempt their election takeover at the ballot box. They must be stopped. And that’s why the Club is actively working to pass election integrity reforms at the legislature and is sponsoring the Arizona Voter ID initiative.
HB2492 would safeguard our voter rolls by ensuring that only qualified, U.S. citizens are registered to vote, are able to vote in Presidential elections, and are eligible to vote by mail. (You can sign our petition in support of HB2492 right here.) And HB2237 would prohibit election officials from registering individuals and allowing them to then vote on election day.
On top of that, the Arizonans for Voter ID Act Initiative consists of four key provisions that would:
- Improve existing in-person voter ID requirements.
- Require voter ID on mail-in ballots.
- Prevent ballot harvesting by enhancing voter ID requirements for in-person ballot drop off.
- Provide a free voter ID option to lawfully registered Arizona voters who need it for voting.
The people of Arizona are already used to providing basic identification in their daily lives to purchase alcohol or cigarettes, obtain a driver’s license, board a commercial flight, and more.
And this common-sense solution has plenty of support. Statewide polling from last year shows that an overwhelming majority of Arizona voters support voter ID requirements. In fact, every race and ethnicity support it along with the majority of Republicans, Independents, and Democrats.
That’s right. Even the majority of Democrats support voter ID requirements. Maybe someone should tell the Arizonans for Free and Fair Elections. It looks like even their own supporters are inclined to support our ballot measure.
Help Stop Illegals from Voting!
U.S Citizenship is a qualification for voting in both the Arizona constitution and Arizona law. Arizona voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 200 in 2004 to ensure only US Citizens could register to vote by requiring that “the county recorder shall reject any application for registration that is not accompanied by satisfactory evidence of United States citizenship.”
Unfortunately, through the well-funded lawfare of the left, this requirement has been whittled away and the Federal Only Voter list has exploded. HB2492 will safeguard our voter rolls by ensuring only qualified, U.S Citizens are registered to vote, are able vote in Presidential elections, and eligible to vote by mail.
Will you sign our petition to PROTECT our voter registration process and SUPPORT HB2492?
by admin | Feb 8, 2022 | Elections, News and Updates
Two weeks ago, we outlined the history of the federal only voter list. As a summary, in 2004 Arizona voters approved Prop 200 which required county recorders to reject any application for registration that did not include Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC). After passage, Arizona did reject applications without DPOC—those made on both the state voter registration form and federal voter registration form established by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) in 1993.
In 2014, Arizona began accepting federal voter registration forms that did not include DPOC and registering voters as “Federal Only Voters” eligible to vote for President, U.S House, and U.S. Senate following the 7-2 Supreme Court decision, Inter Tribal Council, deciding that the NVRA preempts Prop 200’s DPOC requirement.
Then, in 2019, Arizona began accepting all applications for registration that did not include DPOC after Secretary of State Michelle Reagan and Maricopa Recorder Adrian Fontes entered into a consent decree with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) agreeing that the state could accept applications for registration without DPOC and somehow stay in compliance with the Prop 200 requirement to the contrary – to reject them.
HB2492 tackles this complicated issue with five main provisions.
First, HB2492 mandates that county recorders shall reject any application for registration made on our own state voter registration form that does not include DPOC. If an election official accepts one of these applications, he or she is guilty of a class 5 felony.
Our power to do this is affirmed several times. In Inter Tribal Council Justice Scalia, for the court, writes, “States retain the flexibility to design and use their own registration forms.”
Additionally, the Elections Assistance Commission (EAC), to whom Congress delegated power to design the federal registration form, in 2006 responded to a request by Arizona to include our DPOC requirement on the federal form by affirming that “Arizona may apply Proposition 200 requirements to the use of its state registration form in Federal elections (if the form meets the minimum requirements of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).”
Second, HB2492 requires election officials to check a multitude of databases to determine the citizenship status of an applicant using the federal form who did not include DPOC. Again, in Inter Tribal Council, Justice Scalia writes that the NVRA “does not preclude States from ‘deny[ing] registration based on information in their possession establishing the applicant’s ineligibility’”.
Further, a 2014 response from the EAC on an additional request to include the DPOC requirement on the federal form acknowledged that the NVRA does not prevent us from rejecting applications if we ascertain information indicating the applicant is not a U.S citizen and outlines several databases states can use to check for the information. HB2492 utilizes each of these databases recommended by the EAC.
Third, depending on what is found from the database checks there are three possible outcomes. If the election official finds the applicant in a database and confirms that the applicant is a U.S. citizen, the applicant would be properly registered to vote. However, if the election official finds in a database that the applicant is not a U.S. citizen, the election official would be required to reject the application and inform the Attorney General and county attorney because the applicant lied on a voter registration form, which is a crime. Lastly, if election officials cannot find the applicant in any database, they are required to send a notice to the applicant requesting DPOC within 30 days.
Fourth, HB2492 makes DPOC a requirement to vote in Presidential elections. The power of states over the conduct of Presidential elections is plenary. Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the US Constitution states that “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress.”
Going back further in court precedent, Chief Justice Fuller writes,“it is seen that from the formation of the government until now the practical construction of the clause has conceded plenary power to the state legislatures in the matter of the appointment of electors.” McPherson v. Blacker, 146 U.S. 1 (1892).
Fifth, HB2492 would make DPOC a requirement to vote early by mail. There is no right to vote by mail and as recognized by Justice Alito in Brnovich v DNC, “Arizona law generally makes it easy to vote.” And when the “totality of circumstances” is considered, HB2492 would not place a significant burden on voters by requiring DPOC to vote early by mail.
Taken together, each of these five provisions will largely prevent individuals from being registered if they do not provide DPOC and, as for persons already on the Federal Only Voter list, assert our constitutional power to prevent these individuals from voting for Presidential electors and from voting by mail.
Help Stop Illegals from Voting!
U.S Citizenship is a qualification for voting in both the Arizona constitution and Arizona law. Arizona voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 200 in 2004 to ensure only US Citizens could register to vote by requiring that “the county recorder shall reject any application for registration that is not accompanied by satisfactory evidence of United States citizenship.”
Unfortunately, through the well-funded lawfare of the left, this requirement has been whittled away and the Federal Only Voter list has exploded. HB2492 will safeguard our voter rolls by ensuring only qualified, U.S Citizens are registered to vote, are able vote in Presidential elections, and eligible to vote by mail.
Will you sign our petition to PROTECT our voter registration process and SUPPORT HB2492?
by admin | Jan 25, 2022 | Elections, News and Updates
Most people paying attention to elections in Arizona have likely heard of Federal Only voters, but few probably know the complicated history of how we began bifurcating our voter registration system and allowing individuals to vote in federal elections, even if they haven’t proven they are a US citizen.
History
In 2004, Arizona voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 200 which, in part, created the requirement that “the county recorder shall reject any application for registration that is not accompanied by satisfactory evidence of United States citizenship.” (A.R.S § 16-166(F)). At that time, Arizona was under what was known as preclearance, where the Department of Justice essentially held veto power over state election laws. The Documented Proof of Citizenship (DPOC) provision of Prop 200, however, did receive preclearance by the DOJ and went into effect in 2005. Arizona was immediately sued.
The problem was that in 1993 Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) which, among other mandates, created a federal voter registration form that each state must “accept and use.”
The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was given the authority to design this federal voter registration form, on which they were required to provide state specific instructions to account for the different requirements of each of the 50 states. Arizona’s DPOC requirement, however, was left out and only a box remained for applicants to attest to their citizenship status – an honor system.
The suit brought against the state argued that this NVRA requirement to “accept and use” the federal form preempts Arizona from requiring any information from applicants beyond what is requested on the federal form. After years in and out of the courts, the case made its way to the US Supreme Court.
In 2013 the 7-2 decision of Inter Tribal Council held that the NVRA does preempt Arizona’s DPOC requirement, and that Arizona may not request additional information beyond that which is required on the federal form and must, assuming the application is complete and the applicant is qualified, register an applicant to vote in federal elections.
Following this decision, Secretary of State Ken Bennet bifurcated our voter registration system to prevent individuals using federal forms from being registered to vote in all Arizona elections. And, importantly, Arizona continued to reject applications for registration made on the state voter registration form that did not include DPOC.
But Arizona was sued yet again in 2017 by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), this time alleging that by accepting federal forms for registration without DPOC (as the Supreme Court required), but rejecting state forms (as the same Court affirmed we could), Arizona was violating the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause by treating applicants differently. Instead of going to trial, Secretary of State Michelle Reagan and Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes agreed to settle the case with LULAC and enter into what is called a Consent Decree (a settlement that comes with the power of a court order).
In the settlement, Arizona maintained that it was not violating the Equal Protection Clause and that the practice of rejecting state forms for registration was not unconstitutional or preempted by federal law. However, the state agreed that it could accept these forms and register the applicants as federal only voters and stay within the requirements of A.R.S § 16-166(F). In other words, they agreed in court that they could accept forms while somehow complying with Prop 200’s mandate to reject them.
As a result, the practice in 2005 of rejecting all forms that did not include DPOC is now the opposite. Since 2019, Arizona has been registering applicants who use the state voter registration form or the federal form without DPOC as federal only voters, despite Arizona law requiring them to be rejected.
Impact
In 2018, over 1,700 individuals voted in elections for federal office who had not provided DPOC. In 2020, the first election with the 2017 Consent Decree in effect, that number grew to more than 11,600. As of now, more than 36,000 individuals are registered to vote in elections for federal office, yet they have never provided DPOC. To contextualize these numbers, the 2020 statewide margin of victory for the Presidential election in Arizona was 10,457 votes.
Solution
As can be seen, this is a complex issue – a ballot proposition, federal law, the US Constitution, lawsuits, a Supreme Court ruling, a Consent Decree, a federal voter registration form, and a state voter registration form. All intertwine and have, over the past two decades, whittled away at Prop 200 and led to the complete proliferation of a Federal Only voter list, allowing individuals who have not proven they are citizens to vote in our elections.
However, there is a solution that walks the fine legal line and ensures Arizona asserts its Constitutional authority to determine the qualifications of voters and safeguards our registration process. That solution is HB2492, sponsored by Rep. Jake Hoffman.
Next week, we will break down the provisions of the bill and outline how it will help restore the integrity of our voter rolls.
Help Stop Illegals from Voting!
U.S Citizenship is a qualification for voting in both the Arizona constitution and Arizona law. Arizona voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 200 in 2004 to ensure only US Citizens could register to vote by requiring that “the county recorder shall reject any application for registration that is not accompanied by satisfactory evidence of United States citizenship.”
Unfortunately, through the well-funded lawfare of the left, this requirement has been whittled away and the Federal Only Voter list has exploded. HB2492 will safeguard our voter rolls by ensuring only qualified, U.S Citizens are registered to vote, are able vote in Presidential elections, and eligible to vote by mail.
Will you sign our petition to PROTECT our voter registration process and SUPPORT HB2492?
by admin | Dec 28, 2021 | Elections, News and Updates
For a long time, school board elections have been one of the easiest to ignore. Maybe it’s because the names on the ballot don’t stand out as much as the candidates for President, Governor, or U.S. Senate. Maybe it’s because people are too busy to research the candidates. Or maybe it’s because voters who don’t have kids—or whose kids are not in public school—don’t see how school board elections can affect them.
But if 2021 has taught us anything, it’s that even the smallest election has consequences. And nowhere has that been more obvious than with the leftist agendas that have taken over Arizona’s school districts this past year.
By now, you’ve probably already heard about attempts from various school districts throughout the state to adopt Marxist Critical Race Theory programs in their schools. But this effort to indoctrinate our children by teaching them that their moral character is determined by their race is only one of the many issues.
In Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD), students are allowed and even encouraged to replace their “deadname”—the birth name that individuals reject upon transitioning genders—with their preferred name on their school ID. Behind this effort to sexualize children is a group named the Gender & Sexualities Alliance. And parents are right to be alarmed. But when they raised their concerns about such clubs being on campuses as young as middle school, SUSD Superintendent Dr. Scott Menzel labeled their criticism as “targeted attacks” and bullying.
And yes, this is the same school district where the now-former Governing Board President Jann-Michael Greenburg was connected to a secret dossier on parents and other political opposition.
But Scottsdale isn’t the only school district that appears to be ok with sexualizing children. In Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD), two English teachers assigned a book containing porn and sexually explicit material as part of an AP 11th grade summer reading list. And the book was also available for any student to read in the school’s library.
Then, there’s Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) where some teachers have been pushing for a program called “Windows, Mirrors, and Sliding Glass Doors.” This curriculum is just a rebranded version of social-emotional learning, which is just a guise for other controversial curriculums like Critical Race Theory and Comprehensive Sex Education.
It’s amazing—but not surprising—to see the efforts they’ll go through to hide this stuff.
But this isn’t the only controversy CUSD has faced this year. The school district also appeared to coordinate with police to spy on and arrest unmasked parents.
Sadly, we’re still not done. Back in July, Higley Unified School District’s former superintendent Dr. Denise Birdwell was indicted on 18 felony counts related to procurement fraud, misuse of public monies, fraudulent schemes and practices, and more.
And finally let’s not forget about all the hypocrisy surrounding COVID. In September, Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) members were seen maskless at a conference while suing for K-12 mask mandates. And they followed that up with another conference earlier this month where multiple attendees did not wear masks despite the conference having a mask mandate.
This is just a small sampling of what’s been going on in our school district’s this past year. Are you tired of it yet?
Thankfully, there is hope. More and more parents have been speaking up, despite being labeled as “domestic terrorists.” And some school districts are starting to respond.
CUSD voted to leave the National School Boards Association back in October, and Dysart Unified School District voted to leave the ASBA earlier this month.
Perhaps most telling was this past November’s elections. Most of the bonds and overrides affecting Arizona school districts in suburban areas failed. (In many cases, they weren’t even close.) And in Virginia, Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin won the race for Governor with many believing that education was the central issue.
We can’t allow this momentum to subside.
With the close of this year just days away, we’re about to head into 2022 where there will be plenty of contentious elections across our state. And while we should focus on the important races for Governor, U.S. Senate, and more, we can’t afford to ignore what’s happening in our schools.
Start doing your research as soon as possible to see who’s running for school boards in your area—and what they stand for. Students and parents need school board members who will put them first. And remember, whether or not you have kids, what happens in our schools not only affects our state today, but it can impact your future.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
Join our FREE Grassroots Action List to stay up to date on the latest battles against big government and how YOU can help influence crucial bills at the Arizona State Legislature.
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