By Kiera Riley/Cronkite News – April 7, 2021

PHOENIX – Faith and community leaders on Wednesday demanded Arizona’s elected officials stand against “voter suppression” laws, joining a national movement that has embroiled businesses and lawmakers across the U.S.

Supporters criticized bills in the Arizona Senate and House pushing for further identification requirements, purges of the permanent early voting list and the possibility of criminal action against voters.

The bills were introduced weeks after Arizona voted blue in the presidential election for the first time since 1996, which prompted a flurry of election challenges from former President Donald Trump and his allies. At the time, Gov. Doug Ducey, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Mark Brnovich all defended Arizona’s election.

The Arizona critics echoed a sentiment that voting rights advocates have repeated throughout the country, saying the rush to restrict voting recalls the days of “Jim Crow,” when Black voters routinely were segregated and disenfranchised by state laws and oppressed under the stamp of government policy and often-violent regimes.

[read more on AZPBS Cronkite News website]