Arizona Republican: 'Everybody Shouldn't Be Voting'

Elections shouldn't be about getting as many eligible voters as possible to choose a candidate, according to Arizona state Rep. John Kavanagh, chair of the state House's Government and Elections Committee. The Republican defended moves to restrict voting in the state Thursday by arguing that making it easier to vote leads to more fraud, CNN reports. "Democrats value as many people as possible voting, and they're willing to risk fraud," he said. "Republicans are more concerned about fraud, so we don't mind putting security measures in that won't let everybody vote—but everybody shouldn't be voting."

"Not everybody wants to vote, and if somebody is uninterested in voting, that probably means that they're totally uninformed on the issues," said Kavanagh, who criticized Democratic voter registration drives. "Quantity is important, but we have to look at the quality of votes, as well." Kavanagh argued that ballots shouldn't be sent out automatically because ballots sent to people who have moved or died could lead to fraud, though he admitted the concerns were "anecdotal," the Hill reports. A bill to remove people who haven't participated in two consecutive election cycles from the permanent early voting list is among 24 measures restricting voting rights Arizona Republicans have introduced since January. (More voting rights stories.)