Effort to ban ballot drop boxes fails in Arizona Senate

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Arizona Senate Republicans who wanted to pass a measure completely banning ballot drop boxes failed to get enough votes for the proposal. They had sought to change a bill that adds video monitoring requirements to drop boxes but fell short of the needed votes.

They call the boxes widely used by voters to return the mail ballots vulnerable to voter fraud despite lack of evidence. Monday’s hour-long debate ended up being in vain because one Republican, Sen. Paul Boyer of Glendale, joined all Senate Democrats in rejecting the measure outright.

The original House measure would have completely banned unmonitored drop boxes, but it did not have the votes to pass so it was watered down to allow counties to set up video monitoring where practical.

About 90% of Arizona voters cast early ballots, either through the mail, at early voting sites or by using drop boxes put in place by county election officials. Those boxes are most important in the week before an election when there is doubt a mail-in ballot will reach the local election department in time.

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