Senate adopts changes to late ballot handling, shortens cure period in SB1001

The Arizona Senate on March 17 passed Senate Bill 1001, a measure that tightens procedures for ballots delivered after the Friday cutoff and makes permanent a shortened early-ballot cure period.

Senator Mesnard moved the floor amendment and explained it would remove certain voters from the early-voting list if their ballots were delivered after the familiar Friday deadline without an accompanying ID, and would make permanent a reduction of the ballot cure period from five business days to five calendar days.

Supporters said the change reduces reliance on signature verification and helps counties deliver quicker final results by encouraging earlier ballot delivery. "If folks are turning in their ballots after the Friday cutoff ... the sort of disincentive to doing that would be that they would be removed from the early voting system," Mesnard said while explaining the amendment. He added that voters who show ID when delivering a ballot would not be removed and that counties had found the shorter cure period helpful.

Opponents warned the amendment could suppress valid votes by making it harder for voters to cure problematic ballots and by erecting new barriers to family or caregiver ballot drop-off. "A lot of these proposals that are intended to speed up the counting of our ballots are also having the effect of reducing access for voters," said a senator who spoke against the change, saying it could lead to more rejected ballots and called it "voter disenfranchisement." Another senator posed a practical example: if a caregiver drops off a relative's ballot without ID, the ballot could fall into the verification bucket and that voter could be removed from the early-voting list.

The Senate adopted the Mesnard floor amendment and later passed SB1001 as amended. The roll call on third reading was recorded as 17 ayes, 10 nays, 2 not voting and 1 vacancy. The bill was ordered transmitted to the House.

The sponsor and other proponents said the changes conform to timelines adopted last year and to federal requirements that influenced the shift of Arizona's primary date; opponents said the tradeoff of speed for access is too great and urged counties and the Legislature to seek alternatives that preserve access while improving timeliness.

The measure will now advance to the Arizona House for consideration.