The Arizona Legislature has passed a new measure that shores up election integrity in the state, and it is headed to Gov. Doug Ducey’s desk for signature.
According to reports, the GOP-controlled legislature on Wednesday passed House Bill 2492, which requires Arizona voters to provide proof that they are citizens when they turn in voter registration forms.
The Epoch Times adds:
The state Senate passed the bill March 23 in a 16–12 vote, with 12 Democrats voting against the bill and two others—Democratic Sens. Lela Alston and Juan Mendez—opting not to vote. The state House already passed the bill, which now heads to Republican Gov. Doug Ducey’s desk to be signed into state law.
The bill requires that every voter is a citizen of the United States and is able to provide satisfactory evidence as such. The legislation states that the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections must reject any application for registration that is not accompanied by satisfactory evidence of citizenship.
“The Attorney General shall prosecute individuals who are found to not be United States citizens,” the bill states, referring to non-citizens who try to register to vote.
During Wednesday’s testimony on why the measure should be passed, state GOP Sen. Warren Peterson, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the bill will be a boon to election integrity.
“The issue is making sure the citizens of our country are voting … and if you’re not a citizen of this country, you’re not allowed to vote,” he said.
GOP Rep. Jake Hoffman, the House bill’s sponsor, told the Arizona Daily Independent last month that the bill is designed to ensure that only U.S. citizens are able to vote in U.S. elections.
“Non-citizens should never be allowed to vote in American elections, yet shockingly nearly 12,000 people voted in the 2020 general election for federal office without any proof of U.S. citizenship,” he said.
“Republicans at the Capitol are fighting like hell to protect the integrity of Arizona’s elections with bills like HB2492 so that voters can have confidence that every legally cast ballot matters,” he noted further.
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