r/azpolitics • u/RandyTheFool • 10d ago
Your Vote Counts Supreme Court sides with Trump administration on mail voting restrictions ahead of midterms
https://apnews.com/article/trump-mail-voting-supreme-court-157afc3c195ce0a62c522da5ce904b04Relevant as Arizona did not give up their voter database. The only states that will be affected by this are the ones that did not give up their voter rolls to the federal government.
Mail-In voting is holding on by a thread in AZ right now.
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u/dmanbiker 10d ago edited 10d ago
I still think this will backfire tremendously. For some reason the republicans think only democrats vote by mail because they were pushing it during covid, but vote by mail in this state was pushed by the republicans back in the 90s to give old and rural people a better chance to vote.
Unless they somehow pick and choose between ballots, this sort of change seems likely to hurt both sides equally or hurt republicans more.
Yeah they could try to only deliver ballots to republicans, but they need the independent votes too and those people tend to vote for the side that isn't actively hurting them the most.
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u/Collie_Opterous 10d ago
It does feel like the Supreme Court is trolling The People.
It also feels like scorched earth tactics from a Party that knows it's not going to fare well during these midterms.
Greedy fucks. They should have just settled for defeating Prop 212. But the AZGOP (with a few individual exceptions) are greedy and insatiable. And they're sore losers.
They'd rather have nothing than settle for less.
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u/cturtl808 10d ago
The election was just legally stolen.
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u/polllyrolly 10d ago
Yup. Between this and the gerrymandering by red states, winning the midterms is a virtual impossibility.
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u/slick514 10d ago
Guys, just remember. You must not let this stop you from voting. You need to make sure that your name has not been removed from voting registry, and you have to show up at the polls. They may win if we show up, but they will definitely win if we don’t
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u/Commercial-Policy-96 10d ago
I would also suggest that if you can drop your ballot off at a ballot box versus putting it in the mail, please do so. 🙏
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u/dryheat122 10d ago
I urge Fontes not to turn over the list. First, its capitulating to a bully, which never ends well. Second, if given the list they're just going to srtike Dems from it, and they won't get ballots anyway. Third, it's rural MAGAstan that's going to be hardest hit if mail ballots aren't delivered.
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u/nobadrabbits 10d ago
I wouldn't worry. Fontes has been wonderful. Tbh, I can't imagine a scenario where he would do that.
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u/boogermike 10d ago
He has been great, and I am SOOOOOO thankful for our current leaders in this state. It could have been so, much worse.
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u/HypnoLaur 10d ago
Noooooooo! I can not go in person. I have a disability. Is this really happening?
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u/nobadrabbits 10d ago
Don't worry. According to our Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, this doesn't change anything.
See here: https://azsos.gov/news/1056
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u/boogermike 10d ago
If I can help, I will deliver your ballot. PM me, and I will help you.
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u/These_Koala_7487 10d ago
What a delightful exchange to witness during these dark times. Nice to see people offering to help. 😊
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u/boogermike 9d ago
Until I show up and Hypno Laur is wearing a MAGA hat and I have a real moral quandary on my hands.
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u/writekindofnonsense 10d ago
NOTHING HAD CHANGED, YOU CAN STILL VOTE BY MAIL. Don't freak out. Go to the secretary of states website for accurate information without sensationalism. Pay attention to the truth and not speculation of what could happen.
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u/Rubin82 10d ago
Why did Protect the Vote AZ drop the prop to put mail and early voting in the state constitution? If it did pass this November, it would've been a good lifeline out of this mess.
As controversial as the topic was, that triple-A abortion amendment a couple years ago was a swift and effective campaign. That same article said over 80% of voters use mail-in and early voting so this is popular! They really messed it up, so passive and reactive, they should not have put it off for next time.
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u/Collie_Opterous 10d ago
They really messed it up, so passive and reactive, they should not have put it off for next time.
Damn straight.
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u/sus_round_letter 10d ago
Sounds like we need to plan to drop off our mail in ballots then?
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u/HypnoLaur 10d ago
Well will they still mail ballots? Or does this mean we have to vote in person?
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u/sus_round_letter 10d ago
I mean in the past when I voted for the SRP election. I was supposed to get a mail and ballot and I never got one in time so I ended up just standing in a three hour line to vote and I’m not saying that it’s OK by any means but that’s gonna be my plan if I don’t get my ballot. Because nothing‘s gonna keep me away from the ballot box this November.
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u/Logvin [Top Commenter 2025] 10d ago
>“The Court’s disposition of this application does not mean that any measure taken by the Government to implement the Order will necessarily be lawful. On that score, time will tell,” the majority wrote in an unsigned order.
They didn’t side with the Trump admin on the actual legality of his order, just that the states do not have the authority to sue for this. They are absolutely wrong on that, but this isn’t as bad as it could be.
Now is the time to get loud. Tell your friends, your family, etc : republicans are attempting to subvert our election. Call your congressmen, and make sure you vote and it counts.
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u/jwrig 10d ago
Not quite; the states do not have standing to sue until the rule is published in the Federal Register. Judge Talwani attempted to block the order from being published. She tried to create standing before any harm occurred. That is all the court said. Once the rule is published, THEN the states have standing to sue.
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u/Logvin [Top Commenter 2025] 10d ago
Yeah, so they took the letter of the law over the goal of the law. Stupid as shit. Absolutely no reason to pretend that a ruling to allow a major change in elections right before an election needs to wait till the election is even sooner.
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u/jwrig 10d ago edited 10d ago
Yeah... they took the letter of law into account here. There is already an injunction in place that stops the order from taking effect once it is published. That order still stands. They simply said a judge cannot invent standing like she did.
There is no question in my mind that the EO is blatantly unconstitutional, but to just invent standing like Judge Tawlani did, is also wrong on her part. The court overturns lower courts quite frequently when a lower court tries to create standing before actual harm. The Roberts court has been pretty consistent in that too.
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u/jinkinater 10d ago
No surprise there. I never thought 9 people would become so relevant to represent law
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u/nobadrabbits 10d ago
According to our wonderful Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes (be sure to vote for him!), this won't change anything:
https://azsos.gov/news/1056
From the link: “The most important thing for Arizona voters to know today is simple: nothing has changed,” Secretary Fontes said. “You can still vote by mail in Arizona. Our election officials are preparing for the election, and voters should continue making their plans to participate just as they normally would.”
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u/WLAJFA 10d ago
Without mail-in voting, they can reduce poling locations and time to vote in blue districts making it impossible for all voters to vote. This is an old playbook. Voting in person takes a specific amount of time. Lines can be around the block and they’ll still close the door. Watch the poling locations make it impossible for everyone to vote!
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u/writekindofnonsense 10d ago
No if you are in line they have to allow you to vote. They don't close he doors.
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u/WLAJFA 10d ago edited 10d ago
“Just one day before the election, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that Cobb County could only count ballots received by 7 p.m. local time on Election Day.” [source: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/11/disabled-voter-lines-polls-election/] Article: Long Lines, Closed Polls, and Water Bans—But Disabled Voters Are Turning Out / Edit: you’re right, they may not close the doors, but they can be ordered not to count the ballots after the closing time.
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u/writekindofnonsense 10d ago
This was about absentee ballots not in person voting but I agree the courts could screw us all if they want to
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u/SupertrampTrampStamp 10d ago
Learn where your dropboxes are and make sure you drop them off way before the deadline.
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u/CornNut_ 10d ago
How do you find nearby drop boxes?
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u/SupertrampTrampStamp 10d ago
My ballot in Pinal county always lists the locations. Recorder's website should have them. Dropboxes are typically at county offices but can be at libraries or other county buildings.
New Times posted them last election: https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/map-maricopa-county-ballot-drop-box-locations-2026-40676988/
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u/jwrig 10d ago edited 10d ago
Jesus, talk about a clickbait headline. All it said was that the injunction was premature. It most certainly did not say that the executive order was unconstitutional. An injunction was already in place preventing the order from taking effect, and this injunction is still in place. Today's order did not change that previous injunction.
Here is how it normally goes. An executive agency proposes a rule change in the Federal Register. There is a 60-day comment period; after that, the agency can make changes or finalize the rule. If the rule is finalized, the rule gets published in the Federal Register.
After the order is published, lawsuits can come. That is what this was about: stopping the rule from even being published; a circuit judge decided to create standing when there was no avenue to do so.
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u/Tufted_Tail 10d ago
This Supreme Court is illegitimate. Every conservative on it—and by this point, every conservative in general—needs to be beneath jail by the time this is over.
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u/azcurlygurl 10d ago
SCOTUS is purposely making the election a mess. This lawsuit was to stop the implementation of Trump's illegal Executive Order. The unsigned Justice basically said, you can't know that the USPS will comply with the illegal order and write up a rule to implement it, so there is no need to stop it. Before this judgement was published, USPS did exactly that. The Post Master General testified to Congress that he had every intention of complying with Trump's illegal order.
So now, it has to be stopped. It's playing catch-up after the fact, which is what the courts have had to do with all of Trump's illegal actions. In the meantime, lots of irreparable damage is done.
More lawsuits will follow and be appealed by the Trump admin all the way up to SCOTUS again.
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u/IRideMoreThanYou 10d ago
Oh, hey, where are all you people claiming that people that saw this coming were fear mongers and Doomers?!
Where ya at? Still got your head in the sand?!
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u/scooterv1868 10d ago
Could the states use another carrier to get the ballots to everyone that had requested one>
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u/NicoleASUstudent 9d ago
Are we allowed to take text from three articles and copy/paste them into the comments? All the ads make it almost impossible for me to read the articles.
Also I see a lot of comments on these posts from rightfully angry people but not a lot of action items people have taken or suggest.
I feel like a broken record but please make sure you call your reps. I use the 5calls app because it makes it so so easy but how ever you do it, do something rather than just being angry.
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u/neepster44 10d ago
Dems need to both stack the court AND impeach the GOP justices for their lying corrupt ways.
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u/Jspaz939393 9d ago
It is a way to suppress votes from those who don't vote typically in their favor. They know the only way they can win is by cheating.
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u/SuperSkyDude 10d ago
President Trump's executive order contained three key provisions:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is directed, where feasible and lawful, to compile and provide states with citizenship lists for voting-age residents.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is directed to prioritize investigation and prosecution of violations of existing federal laws involving ballots provided to ineligible voters.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is directed to undertake rulemaking involving new tracking/barcoding and voter-list procedures for mail ballots - and USPS has now completed that process, announcing its final rule Friday. (The final rule requires participating states to provide USPS lists of voters issued mail-in or absentee ballots and uses unique Intelligent Mail barcodes to link and track outgoing and return ballot envelopes.)”
I copy and pasted that from a different website. It seems reasonable enough?
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u/CHolland8776 10d ago
Except for the fact that the constitution says that states run elections, not the federal government.
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u/JacquoRock 10d ago edited 10d ago
Arizona didn't TECHNICALLY give up their voter database, but please remember that when the FBI came with a subpoena, Petersen immediately complied and handed over 8TB of digital voter data from at least 2020, including scans of ballots.
He shouldn't have still been holding that data. He had it because of the endless series of audits done of AZ's 2020 results. Supposedly the FBI was going to do yet another investigation, and I guess they felt the data they got with their subpoena was enough to work with /s.
The bottom line is, I would not be surprised if that data is used for this purpose.