AZ vote-by-mail initiative won’t make November ballot after campaign withholds signatures

An initiative that would have enshrined vote-by-mail protections in the Arizona Constitution will not appear on the November ballot, organizers announced Wednesday.

The measure, called the “Free, Fair and Secure Elections Act,” was filed with the Arizona’s Secretary of State’s office in March as a proposed constitutional amendment.

It would have established a constitutional right to vote in person on Election Day, extended early in-person voting through the Monday before an election and guaranteed voters the right to receive a ballot by mail without providing a reason.

The Protect the Vote Arizona campaign said it gathered about 439,000 raw signatures with more than 2,000 volunteers since mid-March. The initiative needed 383,923 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Even with more than enough signatures, organizers said they made a “strategic decision” not to submit the signatures, citing concerns about turning over voter information to elected officials the campaign opposes, specifically naming Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap.

“Facing an impossible 88% validity requirement, the campaign made a strategic decision to not turn over the signatures of hundreds of thousands of mail-in voting supporters to the very election-denying politicians (i.e. Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap) that this measure was designed to protect against,” the campaign said in a statement.

The campaign said it would shift its focus to a legal challenge against House Resolution 2001, a measure referred to the ballot by the Arizona Legislature that would tighten voter ID laws. While supporters call it a commonsense election security measure, Protect the Vote Arizona says it would erode voting access.

The group also said it would work to elect candidates it considers supportive of voting rights in November.

Heap’s office did not respond to a KTAR News 92.3 FM request for comment.

Related

Adrian Fontes: Supreme Court mailed ballot ruling has 'zero impact' on ArizonaFederal judge halts Trump’s election executive order seeking to create a federal voter listKey dates and deadlines for Arizona’s 2026 primary and general electionsAndy Biggs explains why he picked Sine Kerr as his running mate in bid for governor’s seatAndy Biggs picks Sine Kerr as running mate in 1st Arizona election with lieutenant governorKatie Hobbs won’t debate Andy Biggs in governor’s race