Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, Priorities USA and Voto Latino Win Challenge Against Two Provisions in Arizona Voter Suppression Law SB 1260
Today, Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, Priorities USA and Voto Latino announced a significant victory in the groups’ recent legal challenge against Arizona’s SB 1260, a bill designed to suppress the vote. A federal judge temporarily blocked the law’s felony and registration cancellation provisions which unfairly target voter registration and mobilization efforts and criminalize common voter behavior.
This ruling follows a legal challenge filed in August arguing that SB 1260 violates due process, the First and Fourteenth Amendments as well as the National Voter Registration Act. The judge’s ruling temporarily blocked the provision in SB 1260 that required canceling an individuals’ voter registration without notification as a violation of the National Voter Registration Act. The judge also blocked the provision that makes it a felony to provide any voting assistance to voters registered in another state on the grounds that the text of the statute was unconstitutionally vague.
In its original form, SB 1260 allowed election officials to purge both voters’ registrations and voters’ membership on Arizona’s vote-by-mail list, without notifying the voter, if the voter is registered in another county, and also criminalizes providing voting assistance to those registered in a different state. The law disproportionately creates barriers to vote for young voters, college students, older voters, and transient voters who are more likely to be low-income and people of color. SB 1260 also permits third parties to provide county recorders with “credible information” on voters registered in other countries, opening the door to targeted voter suppression and monitoring of marginalized groups.
“This is a major victory in our effort to protect the right to vote and we’re proud that our challenge delivered real results for Arizona voters,” said Aneesa McMillan, Deputy Executive Director of Priorities USA. “It is critical that Priorities is on the front lines of fighting these voter suppression efforts in the courts as Republican voter suppression efforts continue to proliferate across the country. While right-wing groups find new ways to try to limit the voting rights of marginalized groups, Priorities will continue to fight in the courts and deliver relief for all voters.”
“SB 1260 is a perfect example of Republicans seeking to enable mass disenfranchisement of voters,” said Maria Teresa Kumar, President and CEO of Voto Latino. “Our victory only fuels the fire to continue fighting in the courts to end the wave of voter suppression laws that are being implemented across the country. Pieces of legislation, like this one, disproportionately affect communities of color as they’re starting to demonstrate more of a significant impact in elections. This is a major step in the right direction of allowing underrepresented demographics to exercise their political rights.”
“Today represents a big victory for older voters across Arizona. We are grateful that no Arizona voter will have their voter registration canceled without notification” said Saundra Cole, President of the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans. “Voter suppression in all forms is wrong and our members are committed to fighting to make sure all Arizonans can make their voices heard.”