Proposition 144 would add language to the Arizona Constitution regarding voting laws, stating only U.S. citizens can vote in Arizona elections and that elections can only be decided by votes cast by eligible citizens. The measure also aims to prohibit a foreign national from making contributions to influence an Arizona election and prohibit others from accepting such contributions.
State Rep. Oscar De Los Santos (D) and James Rogers (R), a candidate for the Arizona State House of Representatives, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the aims of the proposed legislation.
Voters are already required to prove their citizenship by providing government-issued identification when they register to vote. Furthermore, voters are required to show ID at the polls and mail-in ballots are signed and verified by election officials.
However, Proposition 144 would add the requirement that voters must provide ID to cast their ballot, regardless of voting method, which is currently only required by state statute.
Santos said that nobody believes noncitizens should be voting in elections. The problem is the other provisions in the proposition that would effect mail-in voting.
“The problem with this is they’re using this as a trojan horse to sneak in a provision that effectively ends vote by mail in Arizona,” Santos said.
However, Rogers said the proposition “is not a trojan horse and other states have the same requirements.”
“Florida and Nevada have similar provisions that require ID to vote. They have mail-in voting. We can do the same thing here and it’s not going to end the world,” Rogers said.
The proposition does not detail how voters would be required to show ID with mail-in ballots. In a Clean Elections Debate between Greg Blackie and Tempe City Councilmember Randy Keating on Oct. 1, Proposition 144 proponent Blackie suggested it could be an upload to an app, a written ID number on the ballot and a couple other hypothetical options.
