There are three legs to voter suppression in Arizona – SO FAR. All initiated by Republican election officials.
First, giving the wrong date for the election in Spanish, but the right one in English. Even if you think all voters should speak English, assuredly you cannot countenance telling people who prefer Spanish the wrong date for the election.
Second, publicly announcing that people commit a felony when they receive ballots from other people in order to turn the ballots in to the County Recorder. There will be tens of thousands of such ballots received by thousands of people including relatives, friends, neighbors and various organizations. Besides which, it just is not true that receiving someone else’s ballot and turning it in for them is illegal.
The third leg of voter suppression in Arizona is not aimed specifically at Hispanics, but at students. The Supreme Court ruled that Arizona’s requirement to provide proof of citizenship in order to register to vote was unlawful. Accordingly thousands of students at ASU registered using the federal form since many do not possess Arizona driver’s licenses.
The Maricopa County Recorder, Helen Purcell, is holding these registrations in “suspense.” I can’t imagine what higher court she is looking to, but in the meantime, she is:
- NOT sending mail-in ballots to these students
- NOT sending them information about where their polling place is, sample ballots, elections guides or anything else.
- And NOT notifying them that there is any problem with their registration or request for a mail-in ballot.
All of this is called voter suppression, and it’s a very big deal, and all but secret.
