Arizona court shoots down GOP challenge and upholds state’s vote-by-mail system

Jack Birle

January 19, 02:15 PM January 19, 02:15 PM

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An appeals court in Arizona upheld the state’s vote-by-mail system as constitutional after state GOP leaders argued it violated the state’s ballot secrecy clause.

The court upheld held a prior ruling from the state Supreme Court in June 2022 that said voting by mail did not violate the secrecy clause of the state constitution.

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“Arizona’s mail-in voting laws preserve secrecy in voting by requiring voters to ensure they fill out their ballot in secret and seal the ballot in an envelope that does not disclose the voters’ choices,” the court said in its decision.

The court held that the vote-by-mail system in which voters request, fill out, and drop off their ballots offers adequate protection “to ensure the preservation of secrecy in voting.”

The state’s vote-by-mail system first became law in 1991, when the Grand Canyon State began to allow voters to request a ballot for any reason. The Republican Party of Arizona first brought the case in February 2022 with a special action petition, which it eventually refiled into a claim with the state Superior Court.

The court upheld the ruling that the Arizona GOP had standing to bring the case against the vote-by-mail law.

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The party has to follow the same laws in both primary and general elections. In the decision, the court also declined to award the plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees and costs.

The Washington Examiner has reached out to the Republican Party of Arizona for comment.