A state Senate panel has approved a bill repealing a series of election law reforms made in the legislature last year.

The bill, from Senate President Andy Biggs, scraps provisions like removing names from the early voting list for failing to mail in ballots, and making ballot collection by activists a crime. The Gilbert Republican insists there is no ulterior motive to repealing the laws.

“We’ve heard the people,” Biggs said. “Over 140,000 people apparently have signed a petition to repeal it. We are simply following the will of the people.”

Still, those who testified against the measure, like Leonard Clark, are skeptical.

“Seems like this legislature is trying to take away the vote of the people, and we’re not an eastern state, we do have recall, we have initiatives and referendum.”

Clark and others believe once the laws are repealed Republican lawmakers will attempt to pass the same kinds of election law changes, using a piecemeal approach.