PHOENIX – In an upset to a previous ruling by Arizona Federal Judge Murray Snow regarding SB 1260, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected Snow’s injunction and has cleared the way for the bill to be utilized in the upcoming election.
Snow, who had stated “Senate Bill 1260 is so poorly written that anyone reading it would not know what is-and is not legal”, adding “it is unconstitutionally too vague to be on the books”, the 9th Circuit last Friday overruled Snows injunction on the 2022 law thus allowing Arizona to enforce voter registration in the Grand Canyon Sate.
Opponents of the law claimed it could make felons out of volunteers who register people to vote in Arizona.
Snow also barred the state from implementing another part of the same law detailing when county election officials are required to cancel a voter’s registration, because he stated it runs afoul of the National Voter Registration Act which requires notifying a voter before being taken off the rolls.
Appellate Judge Kenneth Lee writing for the 2-1 majority basically shredded several of Snows points of contention saying the wording of the statute makes it clear that the only thing the bill would outlaw are unlawful acts of voting, adding nothing in the law would make felons out of individuals or organizations engaged in normal voter registration activities.
SB 1260 which was originally sponsored by Senator J.D. Mesnard (R-Chandler) was one of dozens of measures proposed by GOP lawmakers in 2022 amid claims changes were needed to prevent fraud in our elections.
It includes language making it a class 5 felony to anyone who “knowingly provides a mechanism for voting to another person who is registered in another state.” It carries up to an 18-month prison term for doing so.
The target of this law is anyone who might forward an early voting ballot to someone not living in Arizona.
Link to SB 1260: https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/55leg/2R/bills/SB1260S.pdf
Kane Wickham
