Gov. Ducey vetoes voter registration cancellation bill

PHOENIX (AP) — Gov. Doug Ducey has vetoed a bill that would require county recorders to launch an investigation anytime someone claims that a person’s voter registration is invalid. The Republican governor said Friday that the bill could allow for subjective decisions and lead to people’s voter registrations being canceled “based on fiction rather than fact.”

“Our lawfully registered voters deserve to know that their right to vote will not be disturbed without sufficient due process,” Ducey wrote in a veto letter. “This provision leaves our election system vulnerable to bad actors who could seek to falsely allege a voter is not a qualified elector.”

The measure was opposed by recorders who said their offices are not designed to be investigative agencies and warned that the measure was poorly written with the potential to cause significant confusion. They said state and county prosecutors are best situated to investigate if there are concerns about fraudulent voter registrations.

Ducey added in the veto letter that Arizona is a “national leader in election integrity.” Since certifying the 2020 election, Ducey has signed more than 20 pieces of legislation aimed at strengthening the state’s electoral system. Many of those proposals were responses to the false claims of widespread voter fraud and outright corruption. In rejecting the latest election bill, Ducey has shown a willingness to push back against at least some of those baseless claims.

But that hasn’t stopped the Republican-controlled Arizona Senate. On Tuesday afternoon, some of the same elected officials who brought us the Maricopa County election audit held a new hearing based on the latest 2020 election conspiracy that left-wing operatives stuffed drop boxes with enough early ballots to change the outcome. Those accusations are based in Maricopa and Yuma counties. The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office said it’s investigating more than a dozen claims of voter fraud but so far no arrests or search warrants have been conducted. YCSO added the Attorney General’s Office is assisting with those investigations.

Other disproven and false conspiracies about the 2020 election include “sharpie gate,” Venezuelan software switching votes, China hacking voting machines and even fake ballots with bamboo fibers flown in from overseas.

Arizona’s Family digital news staff contributed to this report.

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