OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A judge in Arizona has denied a bid from Republicans to bar the state from using “no excuse” mail-in voting in November’s crucial midterm elections.
“Republican plaintiffs argued the state constitution described voting as taking place at the polls, not via mail, but Mohave County Superior Judge Lee Jantzen maintained nothing in the state constitution prohibited no-excuse mail-in voting, which allows voters to utilize an absentee ballot without giving a reason,” the Washington Examiner reported.
Arizona has allowed “no-excuse mail-in voting” since the early 1990s, whereas many other states require voters to have a valid reason such as medical conditions to be eligible. Arizona has one of the highest usages of mail-in ballots in the country, and Republicans are attempting to clean it up.
“The state Republican Party, helmed by Chairwoman Kelli Ward, argued that the prevalence of mail-in voting flouted the state constitutional requirement for a secret ballot. Jantzen, who was appointed by then-Gov. Jan Brewer noted that the laws have a number of safeguards in them and provisions that preserve secrecy. The plaintiffs can appeal the decision,” the Examiner reported.
The lawsuit did not seek any changes for the upcoming Aug. 2 primary election given ballots have already been printed.
“The laws are far from perfect and nobody anticipated thirty years ago that approximately 90 percent of Arizona voters would vote by mail-in ballot during a pandemic, but these laws are NOT in violation of the Arizona Constitution,” wrote Judge Jantzen. “They are not inapposite of the intentions of the framers of the Constitution who emphasized the right to suffrage for Arizona citizens and that the voters’ ballots be secret.”
Jantzen noted the envelopes used in mail-in voting are designed to be “tamper-evident when properly sealed” and to ensure that the voters’ choices and political affiliation are not exposed in order to ensure secrecy.
In his ruling, Jantzen made it clear t the lawsuit had nothing to do with the ongoing turmoil over mail-in ballots in the state and across the country.
“It is important to note what this case is not about allegations of fraud in the voting process,” he wrote. “It is not about politics. It is not even about whether the parties believe mail-in voting is appropriate. It is about one thing: Is the Arizona Legislature prohibited by the Arizona Constitution from enacting voting laws that include no-excuse mail-in voting?”
A lawyer for the plaintiffs disagreed with the ruling, saying it doesn’t provide voters with increased protections.
“We are deeply concerned that if this ruling stands, Arizona’s most vulnerable voters will be deprived of the protections to which they are constitutionally entitled,” said Alexander Kolodin, a lawyer for the Arizona Republican Party.
