{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=13&itemid=2199", "Grijalva Introduces Legislation Responding to Arizona's Faulty Primary Election", "2016-06-15", "2016", "2016-06", "Democrat", "House", "AZ", "Ra\u00fal Grijalva", "G000551", "grijalva.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Congressman Ra\u00fal M. Grijalva (D-AZ) today introduced legislation in direct response to Arizona\u2019s presidential primary election on March 22nd, which was plagued by lines lasting up to 5 hours in the desert heat and widespread reports of errors involving voter identification, registration and party affiliation, as well as complaints that polling locations were not easily accessible and lacked adequate resources, including ballots and staff.\r\n\r\n\tThe following day, Rep. Grijalva asked his constituents to share their experiences with him through an online survey. He used more than 40 firsthand accounts from that survey, as well as widespread reporting to develop The Voting Access Act. The bill requires the Election Assistance Commission to work with State election officials to establish national standards for the location and operation of polling places used in elections for Federal offices. These include:\r\n\r\n\t\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A requirement that no individual wait more than 1 hour to cast a ballot;\r\n\r\n\t\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Standards for determining the number of polling locations within a given jurisdiction;\r\n\r\n\t\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Standards for nondiscriminatory polling place locations, including assurance of accessibility for voters with disabilities and voters using public transportation;\r\n\r\n\t\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A minimum threshold for sufficient resources, which includes voting systems, ballots and electoral officials;\r\n\r\n\t\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Standards to ensure voters receive timely and accurate voting information, including polling locations;\r\n\r\n\t\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Best practices for preventing violations of election laws intended to stop intimidation or harassment.\r\n\r\n\tGrijalva\u2019s bill authorizes funds needed for states to comply with these standards. Lastly, the bill requires the Election Assistance Commission to provide Congress with a national report on party affiliation misidentification issues and recommendations on how to prevent further occurrences of it.\r\n\r\n\t\u201cArizona\u2019s primary in March was riddled with irregularities and abject failures to meet the needs of our voters,\u201d Rep. Grijalva said. \u201cThis debacle undermined the integrity of our election results and embarrassed our state while the nation\u2019s eyes were upon us. There is no doubt that the shortcomings were the largely a result of election changes that state officials never could have enacted on their own prior to the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in 2013 to undermine key protections in the Voting Rights Act. That ruling created a threat to our democracy that Congress must address immediately.\r\n\r\n\t\u201cOur state is now a poster case for voter disenfranchisement in the 21st century and that is completely unacceptable,\u201d Grijalva continued. \u201cThe legislation I am introducing today addresses each of the problems that were widely reported in the news and directly discussed with my office. Arizonans expect their elected officials to act when such a fundamental institution as the right to vote is undermined, and I urge my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to join me in making sure those expectations do not go unmet.\u201d\r\n\r\n\t\u201cArizona\u2019s disastrous presidential preference election was a wake-up call to the consequences of cutting back on voting locations and being shockingly unprepared,\u201d Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick said. \u201cThousands of voters were disenfranchised by outrageously long lines, party affiliation mix-ups and other problems. By establishing standards for the number of polling places, resources, polling location information and other factors, this legislation should help protect a precious right of Arizonans and all Americans \u2013 the right to vote.\u201d\r\n\r\n\t\u201cThe right to vote is perhaps the most sacred liberty that we enjoy as Americans,\u201d said Rep. Ruben Gallego.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a right that countless Americans fought to secure and millions died to defend.\u00a0 Yet, across our country and right here in Arizona, the right to vote is once again under attack.\u00a0 Most hardworking Americans, especially parents with young kids, don\u2019t have hours to spend waiting at a polling place to cast their ballots.\u00a0 The lines at polling \u00a0places across Maricopa County on primary day were completely unacceptable and that\u2019s why I\u2019m proud to join Congressman Grijalva in fighting to ensure that voting in our elections remain accessible to every American.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\r\n\r\n\tThe Voting Access Act is supported by: ACLU, NALEO, Common Sense.\r\n\r\n\tCurrent co-sponsors: Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Marc Veasey (D-TX), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ),\u00a0\u00a0Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC),\u00a0\u00a0John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI),\u00a0Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), Brian Higgins (D-NY),\u00a0Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Robert C. \"Bobby\" Scott (D-VA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) , Barbara Lee\u00a0\u00a0(D-CA).\r\n\r\n\t###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=13&itemid=2199"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4651680830866098, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}