Tens of thousands of ballots cast in Arizona’s 2012 election were rejected by elections officials, indicating continued communication and voter education problems in the state, according to an analysis of rejected ballots and interviews with elections experts and legislators.... Read more»
Republican lawmakers’ attempts to address the myriad problems that came up during last fall’s election are being met with skepticism from Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups.... Read more»
Humanitarians along the border protested Operation Streamline; law enforcement reports meth (and chicken) seizures are up; rumors swirl around President Obama’s immigration bill and the possible shooting death of Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán... Read more»
Republican leaders in the Senate and House are allowing Arizona’s people and economy to suffer by refusing to hear two bills that would repeal SB 1070, a Democratic state lawmaker said Thursday. Neither SB 1120, authored by Steve Gallardo, nor HB 2651, authored by Rep. Sally Ann Gonzales, D-Tucson, were heard in committee.... Read more»1
A Democratic lawmaker is calling upon the U.S. Department of Justice to monitor three election-related bills being considered by the Legislature.... Read more»1
When Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery accused Attorney General Tom Horne of illegally coordinating his campaign with a supposedly independent expenditure group, state law restricted him to seeking civil penalties. Prompted by that, a state lawmaker wants to give officials the power to not only fine those found guilty of such a violation but also send them to jail.... Read more»
Over objections from voting rights groups, a Senate committee endorsed a bill Tuesday aimed at helping counties manage permanent early voter lists to reduce the number of provisional ballots cast.... Read more»
Democratic lawmakers say allowing voters to register and cast ballots on the same day would increase election participation, but some county officials worry that it would further complicate the voting process.... Read more»
Saying members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community deserve equal treatment under Arizona law, a Democratic lawmaker has introduced four bills addressing employment, adoption and marriage.... Read more»1
Immigrant rights groups, joined by Democratic elected leaders including U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, said national reform proposed by a bipartisan group of senators focuses too much on enforcement.... Read more»
Democrats and activists called on Gov. Brewer to drop an executive order she issued in August denying driver’s licenses to deferred action participants at a press conference in Phoenix Tuesday night.... Read more»1
The Fiesta Bowl game and its many related events have become a football extravaganza that kicks off the new year for the Phoenix area with national publicity and a hefty economic boost. But over the past three years, the Fiesta Bowl has also become the source of continuous embarrassment in the Valley of the Sun, for bowl officials, civic boosters and state legislators, as well. And it isn’t over.... Read more»
Leaders of Verify the Vote, an Arizona offshoot of a national, Tea Party-backed effort, say their training for poll watchers is about preventing fraud. But critics say it’s really a thinly veiled effort to intimidate minorities and other groups likely to vote for Democrats.... Read more»2
In the flurry of statements following the high court’s much-anticipated ruling on SB 1070, no one admitted defeat. All claimed victory of some kind and most saw the decision as a step in the right direction. But with no referees to say for certain who won, victory is open to interpretation.... Read more»4
When Arizona faced a $2 billion deficit in 2010, lawmakers closed the budget gap by tightening eligibility requirements for Medicaid — eliminating health insurance for 300,000 people — and by ending a state preschool program and cutting funding from K-12 education.... Read more»
Supporters of Arizona’s SB 1070 were buoyed Wednesday after a U.S. Supreme Court hearing in which most justices appeared skeptical of the federal challenge to central parts of the immigration law.... Read more»
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