Arizona House passes bipartisan election procedure bills

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona House has approved several election bills in bipartisan votes.

The measures approved Tuesday, which have all already passed the Senate, make relatively minor changes to election procedures. One would raise the threshold for triggering an automatic recount in close elections. Another would require the Game and Fish Department to hand out voter registration links or forms when people sign up for hunting and fishing licenses.

A third bill aims to requires court clerks to report new felony convictions monthly so voter registrations can be canceled. And a fifth directs county election officials to count and publicly report the number of uncounted early ballots on election night, if practical.

Meanwhile, lawmakers voted down a handful of bills that were universally opposed by Democrats, in part because there weren’t enough Republican lawmakers on hand to pass bills without Democratic votes.

One failed bill would allow people to carry their mail ballot to a polling place, show identification and have their ballot tabulated on the spot as if they had voted in person. Democrats said not all counties have the technology to do that, so the bill risks creating disparate procedures across the state.

Another failed bill would make it a felony to forward a mail ballot to someone known to be registered to vote in another state.

Follow @ktar923