Don’t know about the Request to Speak system? Click here to learn more!
Voting Bills of concern for Lutherans
Many of the voting bills moving this session are of concern because they may restrict participation rather than strengthen it. The 2025 ELCA social statement, Faith and Civic Life: Seeking the Well-being of All, teaches that civic life exists to serve the well-being of all and that every person bears God-given dignity and a vocation to participate in public life.
Policies that create barriers, shorten access, or risk disenfranchisement undermine mutual self-determination and the common good. As Lutherans, we value government as a gift, yet remain watchful and call for laws that expand—rather than limit—our neighbors’ full participation.
Following are bills LAMA has been tracking this session. If you attended Lutheran Day at the Legislature, these are the bills on the Civic Engagement & Voting handout.
SB1568 — early ballots; registration signatures; curing
Passed Senate; House Scheduled for House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections hearing - Wednesday, 03/18/2026 2:00 PM
Sponsor, Sen. Jake Hoffman. Allows mailing/verification of early ballots only if voter registration has a handwritten signature from the past 5 years; expands signature-cure notifications by requiring daily lists of voters with signature issues to be shared on request.
SB1569 — special election boards; voter registration
Placed On Senate Third Reading Calendar - 03/04/2026; presumed dead.
Sponsor, Sen. Jake Hoffman. Prohibits members of special election boards from collecting, processing, or otherwise facilitating voter registration while acting for or on behalf of the county recorder or other election officer.
SB1746 — elections; voting centers; polling places
Passed Senate; First House Reading 03/16/26; Referred to House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections
Sponsor, Sen. Jake Hoffman. Allows countywide voting centers; requires school districts to close schools on primary/general election days for paid in-service; requires public offices (incl. schools with gyms) to provide space for polling places when requested.
HCR2051 — ballot measures; circulators; revenue disclosure
Passed House; Senate Scheduled for Senate Judiciary and Elections hearing - Wednesday, 03/18/2026 1:30 PM
Sponsor, Rep. Michael Carbone. Amendment: paid petition circulators must disclose name/state/paid status and wear a badge; signatures without disclosures are void; extends circulator rules to local measures; fiscal measures must name a revenue source in the petition summary.
HB4067 — voter registration status; inactive
Passed House; Senate Scheduled for Senate Judiciary and Elections hearing - Wednesday, 03/18/2026 1:30 PM
Sponsor, Rep. John Gillette. Requires counties to list inactive voters in pollbooks/rosters and let them vote upon affirming residence; adds standardized registration-status labels with explanations; reactivates inactive voters who vote after the election.
HCR2001 — citizenship; identification; election administration
Passed House; Senate Scheduled for Senate Judiciary and Elections hearing - Wednesday, 03/18/2026 1:30 PM
Sponsor, Rep. Alexander Kolodin. Constitutional amendment: limits voting to U.S. citizens; bans foreign-funded election spending; requires government ID to vote; ends early voting 7 p.m. the Friday before Election Day; mail ballots only by request with proof of citizenship.
SB1038 — cast vote record; public record
Passed Senate; Placed On House Caucus Calendar 03/10/26; presumed dead.
Sponsor, Sen. Mark Finchem. Requires county recorder to publish, within 1 hour after polls close, each voter’s name, voter ID number, and party registration, and release cast vote records in a sortable format as public records.
SCR1001 — citizenship; identification; election administration
Passed Senate; House Scheduled for House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections hearing - Wednesday, 03/18/2026 2:00 PM
Sponsor, Sen. Shawnna Bolick. Amendment: limits voting to U.S. citizens; bans foreign contributions; requires government ID to vote; ends early voting 7 p.m. Friday before Election Day; mail ballots only by request with proof of citizenship; on 2026 ballot if passed.
SB1470 — voter registration changes; text notices
Senate Judiciary and Election held 02/19/26; presumed dead
Sponsor, Sen. John Kavanagh. Requires county recorder to alert voters of changes to early voting list status, party preference, or address within 24 hours by text/email for subscribers, or by written notice within 10 days for non-subscribers.
SB1503 — public pensions; proxy voting
Passed Senate; First House Reading 03/16/26; Referred to House Ways & Means
Sponsor, Sen. David Gowan. Sets fiduciary rules for public pensions: proxy votes must be solely in participants’ economic interest; requires documentation, reporting, and back-testing; regulates proxy advisory firms; enforcement by AG with penalties.
SB1634 — early voters; signature comparison; MVD
Passed Senate; First House Reading 03/16/26; Referred to House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections
Sponsor, Sen. John Kavanagh. Requires the Arizona Department of Transportation, when transmitting voter registration information for a driver license applicant, to submit to the county recorder a copy of the applicant’s handwritten signature for use in signature comparison.
If you have not used your RTS account before, or need a refresher, read on for a quick guide.
Click here to log into your account. If your account was set up by our office, you received an email from us with your password! After you log in, click on the RTS Application— the blue square with the microphone icon.
This will take you to the RTS dashboard. Select “My Bill Positions” from the menu on the list.
This is where you can add your opinion to the public record! In the search bar, enter the “HB2054",” then click on the bill that comes up.
Once you have the bill selected, click the green thumbs up to indicate your favor for the bill. Then, click the blue Add button.
After you click Add, your stance will be noted on record. It will added to the list of bills you support, and your name will be added to the list of the bill’s supporters.
And there you have it, you have now officially used your RTS account! The RTS system offers many more opportunities to speak on bills, read bill texts, stay up-to-date on committee hearings, and see who else has spoken on a bill, and we encourage you to explore it! Bills will be open for written and spoken comments when they are being heard in committee— stay tuned for our alerts!