Thread by @weareoversight

Nationwide, right-wing lawmakers are pushing new restrictions on voting and democracy.

We’ve been investigating attacks on voting rights for over two years, and we’re expanding that work now. Here’s what we’re up to in Arizona. #AZpol
americanoversight.org/jurisdiction/a…

The 2020 election saw record turnout despite a deadly pandemic, thanks to increased access to absentee voting. In response, some Arizona lawmakers have introduced a slew of bills that could make it harder for citizens to exercise their right to vote. americanoversight.org/investigation/…

These efforts include many restrictions on early and absentee voting. For example, SB 1069 would purge names of people who don’t vote frequently from the state’s permanent early voting list, which determines who automatically receives a ballot by mail.

Another proposal would eliminate that early voting list altogether. Yet another would require the envelopes of mail-in ballots to be notarized.

Even the bills that stand less of a chance of becoming law are detrimental to democracy, as they fuel the lie of widespread voter fraud—a lie that supporters of Donald Trump leaned on to claim the election was “stolen,” and one that is used to justify disenfranchising thousands.

Next, we are concerned about the origins and potential effects of Arizona legislation that could take the power to elect the president away from voters and put it in the hands of state lawmakers.
americanoversight.org/investigation/…

House Bill 2720 would allow the legislature to overrule the state’s popular election results and choose its own slate of presidential electors. If enacted, this would undermine the democratic process by allowing lawmakers to simply overturn the will of Arizona voters.

This is a continuation of previous efforts by Trump supporters in Arizona and other states to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including the submission of phony electoral vote certificates to Congress.

We already obtained seven such fake certificates, signed by Trump supporters purporting to be “alternate” electors for Arizona and six other states.
americanoversight.org/american-overs…

This won’t be the last of our efforts to expose threats to democracy in Arizona. Stay tuned with the latest updates here:
americanoversight.org/jurisdiction/a…