For those that missed our introductory story that we had the luck of posting during Rachel Maddow last night, you can find it here:
www.dailykos.com/…
Some quick background about us — Arizona Young Voters Initiative is a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to registering at least 50,000 young voters every year. We also advocate for same/election day registration (Arizona has a 30 day deadline to register), and we fight against voter suppression. Which, there’s been plenty of already this year.
Rep Bob Thorpe introduced HB 2461, a bill that would require people to register at a permanent address with a 12 month residency requirement (anything longer than 30 days is unconstitutional) and bar students from using dorm rooms or any other college address for their registration. He then tried to get it added as an amendment to HB 2124, which just deals with online publishing.
We led a successful phone campaign that got him to back down on the bill. For now, at least. I’m sure he’ll try to reword it somehow. He has a private twitter account, so just like gerrymandering allows politicians to choose their voters, he chooses who can see his tweets and comment on them.
Next up? Rep Kelly Townsend with HB 2043. This one is even more onerous. It blocks students from using any kind of school ID to register, and also takes away most of the options for people to verify their address. You can’t use utility bills, bank statements, vehicle registration/insurance or even PROPERTY TAX bills! What can they use? A voter registration card, or any mailing that is labeled as "official election material" Those, of course, won’t be available for anyone registering to vote in Arizona for the first time.
We’ve been leaving messages for her and have been asking all of our followers on Twitter to call her as well.
Please, join in the fight to help us fight these dangerous bills. Democracy wins when everyone participates.
Visit our website for more information, or follow us on Twitter at @azyoungvoters and @ArizonaVoters.