Ban on drop-off ballots at polls appears doomed

A proposal to prohibit Arizona voters from dropping off their mail-in ballots at the polls appears slated for defeat.

Republicans in the state Senate likely don’t have enough votes to pass the bill given opposition from a few GOP moderates, who worry it would discourage voters who are used to hand-delivering their ballots.

More than 228,000 Arizonans who voted in the November election took a mail-in ballot to the polls, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Bill sponsor Sen. Michelle UgentiRita, R-Scottsdale, said Senate Bill 1046 is aimed at protecting confidence in elections because voters dropping off mail-in ballots have delayed election results.

She told The Arizona Republic that she’s still hopeful she can win enough support, though she acknowledged the math isn’t in her favor.

“Whenever you deal with these election issues, it’s just so easy to get in a camp and come up with excuses to maybe not look at solutions,” she said. “So if that’s the case, then that’s the case.”

The bill is the most high-profile elections measure so far at the Capitol this legislative session, and faces widespread opposed by county recorders.

Democrats, some Republicans, and voter-advocacy groups have blasted SB 1046, saying it needlessly would make voting less convenient for many people.

The majority of Arizona voters, about 80 percent, receive a ballot in their mailbox. Most return it in the mail, but many thousands drop it off in person on Election Day or at early-voting site.

Concerns about discouraging voter turnout appear to have sealed the bill’s early demise.

Sens. Heather Carter, R-Cave Creek, and Kate Brophy McGee, R-Phoenix, both said Wednesday that they oppose the bill. They cited complaints about the effect on voter participation.

Their opposition likely guarantees at least a 15-15 split in the Senate, which effectively kills the bill given the chamber doesn’t have a tie-breaker.

Brophy McGee, whose own re-election race took weeks to count, said voters in her district would feel disenfranchised because they like to watch elections until the end and deliver their ballots. “If you tell them they can’t do that, they’re not going to like it,” she said.

The bill would prohibit county elections officials from counting mail-in ballots that are returned in-person, rather than via the U.S. Postal Service.

Voters on the Permanent Early Voting List would have two options to vote: return their ballots by mail, or cast a ballot in person at an early voting location or at the polls on Election Day.

Democrats and voter advocacy groups have said the bill is intended to help Republicans at the ballot box.