Arizona recently enacted two election security bills containing numerous Heritage Foundation policy recommendations.
The first bill, signed March 18 by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, requires the Arizona Department of Health Services to send the secretary of state a monthly report listing every state resident who died within the preceding month. The secretary of state must then compare the death records against voter registrations and remove all deceased residents from the state’s voter rolls.
This monthly review comes on top of the state’s existing annual review which cross-references the state voter registration database with an annual citizen death report. It is expected to significantly improve the accuracy of the state’s voter rolls.
The second bill, signed April 9, removes the ability of private money to influence elections in Arizona. During the 2020 election, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg contributed supposedly “nonpartisan” grants to state and local election boards, but a post-election analysis showed that the grants were targeted to Democratic districts.
“Errors, omissions, and mistakes by election officials and careless, shoddy election practices and procedures or lack of training can cause and have caused problems for voters and candidates,” Heritage experts wrote in a comprehensive Feb. 1 report outlining recommendations for states.
Among the Heritage recommendations: Verify the accuracy of voter registration lists.
Heritage Action Executive Director Jessica Anderson praised the move, saying:
“We applaud the Arizona state legislature and Governor Ducey for taking the necessary steps to strengthen the integrity of the electoral process and safeguard the votes of Arizonans. The Heritage Action team is especially proud to see our Arizona Sentinels representing the conservative grassroots cause in the legislature and leading the fight for free and fair elections.”
Anderson called the bill “a victory for those who value the principle of ‘one person, one vote.’" She added, “Our work is not finished. We look forward to working alongside state officials and grassroots leaders to defend our elections and advance common-sense reforms nationwide,”
Several years ago, Heritage created the Election Fraud Database to better educate the public on the magnitude and scope of election fraud. The database now contains 1,317 proven instances of voter fraud, with 1,134 cases leading to criminal convictions.
Heritage has worked tirelessly to promote election reform to guarantee free and fair elections across the country. The foundation’s recommendations were also included in recent reforms enacted in Iowa.
For a complete archive of Heritage’s work on election integrity, click here.
(This article was originally posted on March 26, but was updated April 13)
