Her action angered Latinos and Democrats who say that, with one stroke of her pen, the Republican governor wiped out the goodwill of last week’s bipartisan accord on the state budget and Medicaid expansion by enshrining in law practices they view as voter suppression.
Matthew Benson, the governor’s spokesman, defended the legislation as “common sense.” He said concerns that the legislation will disenfranchise voters are overblown.
Brewer’s signature on House Bill 2305 ushers in a wave of election-law changes, from limits on who can return a voter’s ballot to the polls, to stricter controls on citizen initiatives, to tougher requirements for minor-party candidates to qualify for the Arizona ballot.
