ARIZONA – Earlier today, Stand Up America joined activists and advocates from All Voting Is Local Action Arizona, LUCHA Arizona, Progress Arizona, and Our Voice, Our Vote Arizona to condemn the more than 40 voter suppression or anti-democracy bills currently being pushed by Republicans in the Arizona state legislature.
After Donald Trump lost Arizona by only 10,457 votes, Republican lawmakers have introduced numerous voter suppression bills, including bills to eliminate or restrict voting by mail, purge Arizonans from the early voting roles, and give the state legislature the power to override the voters’ choice in presidential elections. The groups strongly condemned efforts to make it harder for Arizonans to cast their ballots, noting in particular their opposition to SB 1069, a bill being voted on in the state Senate today that would purge more than 100,000 Arizona voters from the vote-by-mail list.
“The proposed changes in these bills pose a grave and real threat to free and fair elections in Arizona,” said Alex Gulotta, Arizona State Director of All Voting is Local Action Arizona. “Lawmakers pushing these bills are not fueled by facts or data, but by an unrelenting desire to remove power from voters at all costs.”
“There are over 160 different proposals being considered across 33 states right now to make it harder for eligible voters to actually cast their ballots—and these bills are part of a concerted effort by Republicans to make it harder for the same Black and Brown Americans who came out to vote in record numbers in 2020 to vote in 2021 and beyond,” said Christina Harvey, Managing Director of Stand Up America. “Stand Up America is committed to fighting against these shameful efforts by Republican lawmakers to suppress the vote, and we’re proud to be working with groups organizing on the ground in states like Arizona to oppose the GOP’s reckless attacks on our democracy.”
“We are looking at dozens and dozens of bills that put barriers in the way of voters, that undermine the vote by mail system, that would gut the grassroots ballot initiative process and criminalize protests. It’s a full-scale assault on democratic norms, ideals, and institutions,” said Emily Kirkland, Executive Director at Progress Arizona. “We have a very robust coalition of groups on the ground that are fighting back against these bills—and we’re fighting tooth and nail to kill these bills.”
“The folks that will be impacted by this particularly are Latinos. I would estimate that between 25,000-50,000 Latinos could be purged from the permanent early voting list representing between 5 and 7 percent of all registered Latinos in the state of Arizona to vote,” said Randy Perez, Democracy Director for LUCHA Arizona. “It’s unacceptable—and we need some folks to grow some spines at the legislature, stand up and say enough is enough.”
Members of the media interested in speaking with representatives from one of the groups should email Ryan Thomas at ryan@standupamerica.com.
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Common Dreams | Radio Free (2021-02-16T20:44:07+00:00) Voting Rights Groups Condemn Massive Voter Suppression Push Currently Underway In Arizona. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2021/02/16/voting-rights-groups-condemn-massive-voter-suppression-push-currently-underway-in-arizona/
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