February 28, 2022 / Modified feb 28, 2022 3:55 p.m.

Arizona GOP sues to stop early voting

Lawsuit argues voting in person at a polling place on Election Day is the only constitutional way to vote in Arizona.

360 vote here sign A sign directs voters to a polling site set up at Temple Emanu-El in Tucson on Nov. 3, 2020.
John DeSoto/AZPM Staff

The Arizona Republican Party is asking the state Supreme Court to rule that voting by mail is unconstitutional.

"In-person voting at the polls on a fixed date (election day) is the only constitutional manner of voting in Arizona," the party argued in a petition for special action filed with the state's highest court.

The vast majority of Arizona voters cast their ballots early, either by mail or in person.

In 2020, 88% of voters who cast a ballot in the general election voted early, according to the Secretary of State's Office.

But the state Republican Party argues voting early is not expressly allowed in Arizona's constitution.

Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who is named as a respondent in the case, called it a "ridiculous attempt to undermine our elections."

"This lawsuit filed by the Republican Party of Arizona has a single aim — to make it more difficult to vote," Hobbs, a Democrat, said in a statement.

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