Granite State Times

Republican-led election integrity efforts across the nation have drawn fire from Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-New Hampshire), as being too restrictive.

Last May, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed controversial legislation that he said would uphold the integrity of elections, protect Arizona voters and simplify the voting process, according to the Office of the Governor. Under Senate Bill 1485, voters currently on the list to automatically receive early ballots will be removed if they have not returned an early ballot within the previous four years and also fail to respond to a final notice asking if they still want to receive early ballots.

“Arizona is a national leader when it comes to election integrity and access to the ballot box, and Senate Bill 1485 continues that legacy,” Ducey wrote in a letter in support of the bill. “In 1992 our state began offering the ability for Arizonans to vote an absentee ballot. Since then, Arizona has continuously improved and refined our election laws ⁠— including intuitively renaming ‘absentee’ voting to ‘early’ voting — and constantly seeking to strengthen the security and integrity of our elections.” 

U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas | Wikimedia Commons

Democrats have condemned the bill as part of an ongoing attempt at voter suppression, and they estimate that nearly 150,000 voters will be removed from the rolls, NBC News reported. Democrats add that the bill particularly affects voters from rural areas, disabled voters, seniors, voters of color and Native American voters residing on tribal lands.

In a recent statement, Pappas derided the GOP's nationwide election security reforms as a form of voter suppression.

“It says everything you need to know when a political party, using the lies they created about the last election, undertakes a nationwide effort to restrict voting access,” Pappas said in March 26 Tweet. “We the People means all the people, and laws like this tear at the fabric of our democracy.”

Conservatives say that the New Hampshire congressman's allegations of voter suppression are questionable in light of New Hampshire's own voting policies, which in some ways are similar to or more restrictive than those of Arizona.

New Hampshire currently does not allow early voting under any circumstances, according to Ballotpedia.

According to the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Arizona begins in-person early voting 27 days before election day. This is much less restrictive than New Hampshire's policy and is considered to be a long time period for early voting compared to the national average.

Ballotpedia reports that New Hampshire does not permit no-excuse absentee voting, meaning the state requires a valid reason a voter isn't able to cast a ballot in person. Such excuses include being out of town, observing a religious holiday, being physically disabled, being unable to leave work or serving in the military.

Unlike New Hampshire, Arizona allows for no-excuse absentee voting, according to Vote 411.

New Hampshire does not have automatic voter registration but allows for same-day registration. According to the First State Times, Arizona does not have automatic voter registration nor same-day voter registration. 

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, both New Hampshire and Arizona are among 36 states that require voters to show some form of identification at the polls.

A NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll shows that of 1,115 adults, 79% of respondents, believe voters should be required to show government-issued photo identification.