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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

AZ Groups Support DOJ Lawsuit to Block Registration Barrier

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Wednesday, July 13, 2022   

The U.S. Department of Justice wants to block an Arizona law that requires what its lawsuit calls "onerous documentary proof of citizenship" in order to register to vote.

Assistant Attorney General Kristin Clarke claims in the lawsuit that Arizona's bill violates the National Voter Registration Act and would prevent some eligible voters from getting onto the voter rolls for certain federal elections.

Regardless of the court's decision, said Alex Gulotta, director of the Arizona chapter of All Voting is Local, it won't affect voters this year - and wouldn't go into effect until the 2023 and 2024 elections.

"That bill has a new, documented proof-of-residence requirement," he said. "That basically means that folks that don't have an Arizona state-issued ID - that's snowbirds, students, lots of low-income people - are going to have a more difficult time registering to vote in the future."

Proponents of the law have said it would make elections more secure, but the DOJ complaint suggested it would pose an undue barrier, and that the current laws already verify that only citizens residing in Arizona vote in Arizona.

Meanwhile, Gulotta said, the Arizonans for Free and Fair Elections campaign recently submitted signatures to put a petition on the November ballot. It would create same-day voter registration and automatic voter registration, expand early voting, and also would allow people to deliver absentee ballots by mail to a polling place or to a dropbox for another voter, among other measures.

He said he thinks it's also important for voters to select candidates who support policies that make it easier to vote - not harder.

"The practical advice is check your registration. Make sure your registration is up-to-date. If there have been any changes, make sure that your address is correct," he said. "Vote, make a plan to vote, make sure that you and five of your friends and family members also vote."

The ballot campaign submitted more than 475,000 signatures. The proposal also would require election outreach to Native American tribes, ensure assistance for voters with disabilities, and reduce campaign contribution limits.


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