Tucson – Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) released the following statement after news that 98 state and national organizations sent a letter to Arizona Secretary of States Michele Reagan urging her to create plans to prevent voting discrimination in Arizona. The request comes just days before Americans take to the polls for the first time in 50 years to elect a president without a fully operable Voting Rights Act.

“Arizona’s botched primary election in March already made the state a poster case for voter disenfranchisement,” Rep. Grijalva said. “We can’t afford a similar disaster on Election Day. So many voices within our state and around the country are calling on state election officials to ensure every Arizonan can cast their ballot free from intimidation or hardship. They must be heard.”

In response to Arizona’s botched primary in March, Rep. Grijalva introduced legislation in Congress requiring the Election Assistance Commission to work with state election officials in establishing minimum federal standards for voter accessibility, such as wait-times, and the location and operation of polling places.

“Our primary debacle was a result of the Supreme Court’s decision undermining key parts of the Voting Rights Act,” Grijalva continued. “Arizonans know firsthand how harmful that decision was, and do not want a repeat or the possibility of something worse. The people are demanding assurances from election officials, and they deserve to have them.

“We cannot allow our Democracy to be undermined by those that think voter intimidation and disenfranchisement should be commonplace, and I thank those organizations that have called for the protection of voters in Arizona.”

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