Gov. Katie Hobbs Vetoes Bipartisan Ballot Signature Verification Bill Containing Her Own Policies

Neil Jones

State Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) announced Thursday that his House Bill (HB) 2322, relating to early ballot signature verification, has been vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs (D).

“When Governor Katie Hobbs took office, she said that she’d ‘find common ground’ and work across party lines,” said Representative Kolodin. “Right now, Arizona has no laws setting any signature verification rules for early ballots, which help ensure that only lawful early voter’s vote. What ground could be more common making her own rules the law?”

As reported by The Arizona Sun Times, HB 2322 would have covered up some gaps in Arizona’s law. Specifically, it would codify the 2020 Signature Verification Guide (SVG), created by Hobbs when she served as Secretary of State, as the “minimum requirements for comparison of signatures.” The guide assists County Recorders’ Offices and their staff as they verify early ballot signatures sent in during an election. It covers various reasons why a signature submitted with a ballot may appear different from the voter’s signature on file and how to tell the difference between common mistakes and potential fraud. If HB 2322 had become law, any signature that cannot be verified using the guide’s standards must be rejected.

Kolodin’s bill first passed the House in February, garnering strong bipartisan support with 47 legislators approving it. He released a statement Wednesday after the bill passed the Senate, thanking officials from the Democrat Party for their help in crafting the bill.

“I appreciate the Arizona Association of Counties, Secretary [Adrian] Fontes, and my colleagues across the aisle, for working with me on this bill as it moved through the legislative process and for their admirable commitment to commonsense election reform,” Kolodin said.

However, the Democrat support for this bill fizzled out when it came time for the Senate to vote on HB 2322. For example, during Tuesday’s Senate Floor Session, State Senator Priya Sundareshan (D-Tucson) argued that the bill would end up “tying the hands” of future Secretaries of State into having to stick with these outlined standards. Nonetheless, the bill was still able to pass on party lines.

Ultimately, the bipartisanship behind this bill was unable to save it from Hobbs’s stamp of disapproval. In her letter explaining the veto, Hobbs stated that the policies outlined in the SVG are several years old and are more appropriately suited as “ongoing guidance” created by the Secretary of State. However, Kolodin was unsatisfied with this explanation.

“Instead, her veto letter for HB 2322, for which 16 Democratic House members voted, indicates that instead of legally enforceable rules, she would like ‘ongoing’ signature verification ‘guidance’ that is non-binding and can be changed on a whim by a single person. That is hardly democratic – or sober and responsible governance,” Kolodin said.

Furthermore, another veto from Hobbs Thursday was SB 1600, from Senator Janae Shamp (R-Suprise), which aimed to ensure all medical professionals took every reasonable and appropriate action to keep any child born alive healthy and safe. Shamp expressed “extreme sorrow and frustration” in response to the veto.

Moreover, these are not the only vetoes this week. As reported by The Sun Times, Hobbs axed four Republican-led bills on Monday, including one that would increase the penalty on anyone who assaults a pregnant woman.

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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Katie Hobbs” by Katie Hobbs. Background Photo “Arizona Capitol” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY 2.0.

 

 

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