Today, the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and the Arizona Democratic Party filed a motion to intervene in the Arizona Republican Party’s legal action seeking to end early and absentee voting in Arizona – the dominant form of voting in the state.

From Sam Cornale, DNC Executive Director:

“We are not going to let Republicans get away with their cynical attempts to make it harder for Arizonans to vote. The sacred right to vote is fundamental to our democracy and Democrats will continue to fight tooth and nail to make sure every eligible voter has an easy and accessible way to cast their ballot.” 

From Christie Roberts, DSCC Executive Director: 

“Arizona Republicans are waging an unprecedented campaign to end the methods of voting Arizonans have used for 100 years. Democrats will fight back with every tool at our disposal to protect voters’ constitutional right to participate in our democracy – including defeating this Republican assault on voting rights in court.” 

From Tim Persico, DCCC Executive Director:  

“Republicans are attempting to end voting as we know it in Arizona. Our message to Republican politicians: If you can’t win elections without suppressing the voices of eight in 10 Arizona voters, it’s time to look inward at your toxic agenda. We’ll see you in court.”

From Raquel Terán, Arizona Democratic Party Chair:

“We are not going to let Republicans take away early and absentee voting from Arizonans. Early and absentee voting is secure, convenient, and the preferred method of voting for the vast majority of Arizonans, and has been for decades. The Arizona Democratic Party will always fight for the right to vote.”

Key points from the motion: 

• “For decades, Arizona has guaranteed its voters the right to vote using early and absentee voting. The electorate has embraced these methods of voting—in fact, early and absentee voting has become the dominant means by which Arizona voters exercise their voting rights.” 
   
• “Approximately 75% of the state’s active registered voters are on the Active Early Voting List (“AEVL”) and are automatically sent an early ballot every election.” 
   
• “Suddenly limiting—or eliminating—this means of voting would sow confusion and disenfranchise countless lawful voters.”
   
• “And it is not just voters who have come to depend on early and absentee voting. Arizona’s election infrastructure relies heavily upon millions of its voters using early and absentee voting to participate in the State’s elections.” 

Additional background: 

• Arizonans have been voting using absentee or early ballots for nearly 100 years, and it has become the dominant means by which Arizonans vote by a wide margin. The vast majority – nearly 90% in the 2020 election – vote by early ballot.
   
• Arizona’s Constitution explicitly guarantees the right to vote, with the only procedural limits being that votes must be cast “by ballot” or any “other means” authorized by the Legislature. 
   
• The Republicans’ proposal would itself violate the Arizona Constitution. And it would effectively invalidate all of the Legislature’s laws governing any type of voting other than in-person election day voting – laws that the Legislature has been enacting in one form or another since 1925.
   
• The impact of this Republican proposal would also create enormous challenges for Arizona’s election administration and for Arizonans – including military, tribal and younger voters in school – who live far away from a polling location.

Last year, Vice President Harris announced a dramatic expansion of the DNC’s ‘I Will Vote’ initiative to address and overcome efforts across the country to make voting more difficult and burdensome. As part of the expansion, the DNC is investing $25 million in voter education, voter protection, targeted voter registration, and technology to make voting more accessible and to fight back against Republicans’ unprecedented voter suppression efforts.

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