Part one of a three-part report on the fight over Arizona voting bills.
Republican lawmakers have introduced dozens of bills that would impact Arizona elections. In some cases, even some Republicans concede the measures would make voting harder and more complicated.
Howard Fischer/Capitol Media Services
Sonny Borrelli.
They’ve justified these proposals as a way to restore confidence in the state’s election process. Voters have doubts about the outcome of the 2020 elections and the integrity of the vote, Republicans say, and it’s up to lawmakers to address those concerns. Sen. Sonny Borrelli described it as election reform by popular demand.
Voter Protection Act blocking bipartisan bill
Rep. Leo Biasiucci was waiting his turn to fight a parking ticket in court when the idea came to him.
As the Lake Havasu City Republican watched people ahead of him tell the judge they couldn’t afford to pay their tickets, he wondered why there wasn’t a way to lift the financial burden. Payment plans weren’t an option; an additional fee is required to start one, he said.
Biasiucci’s HB2110, first introduced as HB2055 in 2020, proposes that judges could order people to do community service, valued at $12 an hour, as payment for their tickets rather than money.