Gov. Doug Ducey criticizes Arizona GOP lawsuit that looks to eliminate early voting

PHOENIX — Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday criticized his own party’s lawsuit that looks to throw out early voting in the state.

“The open court case is ill-conceived and poorly crafted,” Ducey told reporters. “It would undo the work of many Republican governors and secretaries of state over the past several decades.”

The lawsuit filed by the Arizona Republican Party on Feb. 28 argues the vote-by-mail system used by 90% of voters in the state is unconstitutional.

“In-person voting at the polls on a fixed date (election day) is the only constitutional manner of voting in Arizona,” lawyers for the GOP wrote in the petition.

The lawsuit cites a provision of the state constitution that says initiatives are decided in “such manner that the electors may express at the polls their approval or disapproval of (a) measure,” with attorneys from the firm Davillier Law Group arguing inclusion of the phrase “at the polls” means ballots should be cast only at in-person polling places.

Arizona Supreme Court justices in the lawsuit are asked to eliminate early voting or strike down the no-excuse absentee balloting system Arizona adopted in 1991 by a Republican-led legislature and steadily expanded ever since.

“I’m certain the way it’s written it’s destined to fail,” Ducey said.

He added there is more the state legislature can do to bring clarity to the election cycle and he’s confident it will be able to get done.

The lawsuit joins a flurry of bills put forth in the state legislature to adjust Arizona’s election system, with several aiming to eliminate or severely restrict mail balloting. However, some look unlikely to succeed due to opposition from one or more Republicans.

The lawsuit did not challenge absentee voting for members of the military, which Arizona is required to allow by federal law.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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