PHOENIX 鈥 Gov. Doug Ducey said Thursday his decision on whether to sign controversial voting bills won鈥檛 be swayed by fears of losing the 2023 Super Bowl.
And he blasted Major League Baseball for its decision to yank the All-Star Game out of Georgia after that state鈥檚 enactment of its own new voter laws.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to sign good policy,鈥 the Republican governor said when asked about the possibility of repercussions from laws that some have said will interfere with the right of 蜜柚直播ns to vote.
The Greater Phoenix Leadership group sent an open letter to 蜜柚直播 lawmakers saying three specific proposals 鈥渟eek to disenfranchise voters.鈥
鈥淭hey are 鈥榮olutions鈥 in search of a problem,鈥 wrote members of the organization. 鈥淭hey are attempts at voter suppression cloaked as reform 鈥 plain and simple.鈥
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That letter is significant and relevant to the Georgia situation because one of the signers is Michael Bidwill, owner of the 蜜柚直播 Cardinals. As an owner, he would have some say in any decision by the National Football League about whether to move the 2023 event elsewhere.
It鈥檚 not just the Super Bowl that could be at stake. 蜜柚直播 also is in line to host the NCAA Men鈥檚 Final Four in 2024 and the Women鈥檚 Final Four two years later.
The NCAA has shown before it is willing to use its leverage to address political situations. In 2016, it disqualified North Carolina from hosting championship events after approval of legislation requiring transgender people to use bathrooms matching the sex on their birth certificate rather than their gender identity. The punishment was reversed the following year when the legislature repealed the law.
Ducey made it clear he thinks sports teams and their associations should stick to what they know.
鈥淚 think Major League Baseball made a big mistake,鈥 he said Thursday. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to keep politics out of baseball.鈥
鈥淚 report to the people of 蜜柚直播 and not a major sports league,鈥 he continued. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 going to make decisions on the policies that are put in front of me.鈥
The letter from Greater Phoenix Leadership singles out three measures its members find objectionable:
- Senate Bill 1485 would remove people from what is now called the 鈥減ermanent early voting list鈥 if they do not use their early ballots at all in two consecutive primary and general elections. People would remain eligible to vote, but would have to go to the polls.
- SB 1593 would prohibit the counting of any early ballot postmarked later than the Thursday before the election, regardless of whether it arrived by Election Day.
- SB 1713 would require someone who wants to vote early to include a separate affidavit with a date of birth or a voter ID number.
鈥淭hese proposals are a concerted effort from those in 蜜柚直播 鈥 and across the nation 鈥 who wish to sow additional doubts about our elections in the minds of voters, and feed into the paranoia that has plagued our political discourse over the past several months,鈥 the Greater Phoenix Leadership letter reads. 鈥淒isturbingly, each of these proposals have one thing in common: making it more difficult for 蜜柚直播ns to vote.鈥
SB 1485 and 1713 already were approved by the Senate and await House floor debate; SB 1593 has yet to be debated in the Senate.
The group of Phoenix leaders dismissed claims by proponents that these are common-sense measures designed to promote election security and voter confidence.
鈥溍坭种辈s already have confidence in the integrity of our elections and, by and large, find it easy to vote,鈥 they wrote.
Ducey appeared to agree, noting that he signed the canvass on Nov. 30 formally certifying the 2020 election results. 鈥淎ll 15 of our counties certified the results,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey were audited. The votes were tabulated and determined to be accurate.鈥
Still, he said, the Senate is 鈥渁 co-equal branch of government鈥 and is free to pursue whatever changes it wants in election laws.
Ducey sidestepped questions about whether he thinks the measures are bad policy that he would veto. He suggested that any final decision will be based on what finally survives the legislative process. 鈥淎nd then I do have a role as the executive of whether I would determine it to be good policy,鈥 he said.