On March 30, 2020, AZ Governor Doug Ducey set October 5, 2020 as the deadline for registering new voters, in keeping with a 30-year Arizona law. On September 30, the Plaintiffs, two non-profit groups, tried to stop enforcement of this law in order to continue registering voters up to October 23, claiming the pandemic had made their efforts more difficult. District Court Judge Logan approved the extension stating that “[b]allot access is an extremely important right, and it has been restricted during this unprecedented time.”
but the Court of Appeals reversed, effective October 15, stating that Mi Familia Vota had more than enough notice to register new voters and the extension to October 23 would have placed a great administrative burden on the state.
Circuit Judge Bybee dissented, saying that Mi Familia Vota sought to extend voter registration just days before the statutory deadline, but they did not explain how Covid-19 restrictions had frustrated their effort. He wrote that the District Court had abused its discretion in permitting the extension. “Improving Arizona’s election code is not our business, and when we undermine long-established, neutral rules, we threaten the confidence the electorate demands in the integrity of our elections.” Judge Bybee wrote that voters who registered after October 5 were not eligible to vote in the election, even though the courts were now permitting them to do so.
Despite the dissent, the 9th Court of Appeals allowed voters who registered for ten days past the deadline be processed and permitted to vote in the Presidential Election. With that, the case was dismissed. The Court of Appeals changed AZ State Law.”