Arizona Secretary Of State Clarifies Recent Reports On Voter Registration And Purging

Published: Saturday, July 21, 2018 - 5:05am
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Two new national reports in as many weeks have examined how states can improve voter turnout and protect their voting roles from purging people erroneously.

The first report, issued by the Center for American Progress showed that Arizona followed less than half of their recommendations to improve voter turnout.

Matt Roberts, with the Secretary of State’s office, admitted that the state Legislature has been reluctant to enact reforms, but he qualified some of the criticisms presented in the CAP study.

“Some people, I guess, aren’t completely aware that we almost have same registration in that the close of registration is only 48 hours before early voting even starts,” Roberts said.

The second report, released by the Brennan Center for Justice, faulted the Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program used to purge voters.

MORE: Study: Problem Of States Purging Voters Is Widespread

Roberts said Arizona shifted to using the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) database for voter verification in early 2018.

Politics