Arizona AG Brnovich ‘confident’ after Supreme Court hearing on voting laws

PHOENIX – Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said he “felt like it was a pretty good day” after defending two Arizona voting laws, including one that bans ballot harvesting, in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

“You never know what a judge is going to do, what the Supreme Court is going to do, but I really do feel confident that we had great briefing on this case,” Brnovich told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Tuesday, shortly after appearing before the highest court in the land in a virtual hearing.

“The argument went really well today. And based on the questioning, I think that the courts seemed sympathetic, or they seemed inclined towards our argument.”

Brnovich asked the nine-member Supreme Court, which has six conservative justices appointed by Republican presidents, to overturn an appeals court ruling against a 2016 Arizona law that limits who can return early ballots for another person. He also wants a separate state policy of discarding ballots if a voter goes to the wrong precinct to be upheld.

The high court’s consideration comes as Republican officials around the country have proposed more than 150 measures, following last year’s elections, to restrict voting access that civil rights groups say would disproportionately affect Black and Hispanic voters.

Opponents of Arizona’s laws and others similar to them say they suppress minority voters. Brnovich, a Republican, has denied those allegations and said the laws were designed to ensure election integrity.

“This case obviously has national implications,” he said.

Brnovich is hoping the decision on his case, which is expected by early summer, provides clarity and leads to more consistent decisions by lower courts on challenges to voting laws.

“We just want to make sure that when there is commonsense election integrity measures that preserve people’s right to vote while maintaining confidence in the results, that those laws are upheld,” he said. “That’s all we’re asking.”

While optimistic, Brnovich said his second Supreme Court experience wasn’t all smooth sailing.

“I think Justice [Sonia] Sotomayor is not a fan of mine,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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