What’s on your ballot? Prop 144 has multiple provisions about elections in Arizona

Proposition 144 in the Nov. 3 general election contains multiple provisions about how elections are run in Arizona.

However, some of the stipulations in Prop 144, also known as the Fast Accurate Secure Transparent Election Results Act, are already federal law.

The Republican-led Legislature referred the proposed constitutional amendment to the ballot through House Concurrent Resolution 2001.

Here are some of the ways it would change Arizona elections if passed:

• Enshrine that only U.S. citizens may register to vote and cast a ballot.
• Require voters to show ID for all methods of voting, including in person and by mail. It would be left up to the Legislature to determine how voters show ID when voting by mail.
• Prohibit foreign nationals from contributing anything of value to influence an Arizona election.
• Allow early ballots to be counted at individual polling places rather than requiring them to be transported to centralized tabulation centers.

What are the arguments for Prop 144?

James Rogers, an attorney and Republican candidate for the Arizona House in Legislative District 10, supports Prop 144.

He said that while the Arizona Constitution already says only U.S. citizens can vote, adding the U.S. citizenship requirement to register would make it harder for future Legislatures to pass a law allowing noncitizens to vote.

Rogers said the voter ID requirement for all methods of voting closes a loophole that allows voters to show two pieces of mail with their name on it when voting in person.

“Obviously, it’s very easy to fake a piece of mail without any government security features on the document, without a picture,” Rogers said.

He said he trusts the Legislature will come up with a plan for voters to show their ID when voting by mail and doesn’t believe state lawmakers will eliminate mail voting.

While there is a federal law that prevents foreign nationals from making contributions to influence Arizona elections, Rogers said it doesn’t include propositions.

“It is legal right now for a foreigner to spend as much money as they want to influence the votes on ballot propositions or on your school board bond elections,” Rogers said.

He said Maricopa County saw great success during the primary election with a new process that allowed early mail ballots to be tabulated on site on Election Day. He said he would like that to be implemented across the state to speed up the tabulation of results.

“It changes it from being an optional procedure that counties can do if they want to requiring it to happen,” Rogers said.

What are the arguments against Prop 144?

Tempe Councilman Randy Keating spearheaded a failed legal challenge against Prop 144, making the argument that it asks too many questions of voters in a single proposition.

The judge ruled it was allowed to remain on the ballot because all of the provisions are related to election law.

“In Arizona, there is the one-question rule where you can’t bundle a bunch of stuff onto a single proposition in order to sort of bait voters into passing it, which is exactly what Prop 144 did,” Keating told KTAR News.

He calls the proposition a Trojan horse that includes commonsense laws to try to get Arizonans to vote away their mail voting rights.

Keating said there is no plan for how voters will show ID when voting by mail, which opens the door for the Legislature to eliminate mail voting in Arizona.

“They want to make sure that it is impossible, effectively, to vote by mail. You have to take your ballot to a ballot center, or you have to vote in person,” Keating said.

Keating said voters already must prove their citizenship to register in Arizona, and it’s already against the law for foreign nationals to spend in our elections.

Keating spoke with county recorders outside Maricopa County who said it would be challenging to tabulate ballots on site, even with sufficient resources.

“How do you secure all those precincts and all those different county locations against people that would want to interfere with our elections?” Keating said.

What will Arizona voters see about Prop 144 on their ballots?

Here is the official ballot language for Prop 144:

OFFICIAL TITLE: AMENDING ARTICLE VII, CONSTITUTION OF ARIZONA, BY ADDING SECTION 19.

DESCRIPTIVE TITLE: REQUIRES ALL VOTERS, INCLUDING VOTERS WHO VOTE BY MAIL, TO SHOW GOVERNMENT-ISSUED ID TO VOTE IN EACH ELECTION; MAKES OTHER CHANGES TO ELECTION ADMINISTRATION AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE PROHIBITIONS.

A “yes” vote shall have the effect of amending the Arizona Constitution to: (1) require voters to show proof of identity when voting in each election, including when voting by mail; (2) changing existing proof of identity requirements to limit acceptable documentation to government-issued ID; (3) require election officials to provide all voters the option to have their ballot tabulated at their voting location on election day; (4) prohibit foreign nationals from contributing or spending to influence elections in Arizona and prohibit anyone from knowingly accepting such contributions, similar to prohibitions that already exist in federal law; (5) create a new standard for judicial review of election laws under the Arizona Constitution, which may make it harder to challenge election laws; and (6) require the legislature to appropriate money necessary to implement these provisions.

A “no” vote shall have the effect of maintaining current constitutional provisions governing
elections.

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