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***ELECTION ISSUE*** On Monday, the Governor’s Office received a complaint from the Yuma County Recorder expressing concerns about election policies recently prescribed by the Secretary of State& #39;s office that violate state law. 1/
The Recorder stated: "I feel strongly that the recommendations diminish security and integrity and I do not feel I& #39;m able to accommodate any such requests for the recommended procedures." Read the entire email. 2/
She notes: “The specific procedures I& #39;ve identified as problematic involve virtual assistance to voters via video-conferencing and/or telephonic assistance for voted ballots and telephonic voter registration.” 3/
Next, @DougDucey wrote a letter to Secretary Hobbs outlining these complaints and asking that these practices “be suspended immediately so that Arizonans can continue to have confidence and faith in the integrity of our election system.” See attached. 4/
This issues have also been brought to the attention of the Attorney General, and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. 5/
It’s also worth noting: these concerns have since been echoed by other County Recorders -- including concerns that these changes are being implemented outside of the statutorily prescribed election procedures manual process. 6/
The governor takes the electoral process very seriously and has committed to working with election officials to uphold the integrity and faith in the process. It& #39;s why he’s previously abstained from late changes to our election system, see: https://www.azmirror.com/2018/10/29/ducey-put-reagans-elections-manual-on-hold-after-county-recorders-complained/">https://www.azmirror.com/2018/10/2... 7/
Now... Two important things have happened since Monday’s letter… 8/
1) The Secretary has responded asking for an Executive Order allowing these practices, seemingly admitting that they in fact did occur WITHOUT legal authority. The Governor does NOT plan to issue such an Executive Order. 9/
2) All this information was leaked to a potpourri of liberal activist groups that are spending big money on AZ races. They in turn put out a press release yesterday. This calls into question where these ideas came from in the first place, AND who coordinated with them? 10/
By all accounts, our office has enjoyed a strong partnership with the Secretary of State& #39;s office -- providing a $9 million investment to ensure voting, including special election board voting in nursing homes, can be conducted safely and within public health standards. 11/
You can read more on those investments here: https://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/2020/07/governor-ducey-secretary-hobbs-announce-9-million-investment-safe-elections.">https://azgovernor.gov/governor/... 12/
We& #39;ve also worked to provide election officials with the staff and facilities necessary to conduct elections, by issuing an Executive Order to provide state employees with civic leave pay and allowing for state buildings to be used as polling places. https://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/2020/07/governor-ducey-issues-executive-order-improving-voting-safety-staffing.">https://azgovernor.gov/governor/... 13/
And Arizona is lucky to have a robust early voting and vote by mail system in place, as many other states are scrambling and making things up on the fly. 14/
But let& #39;s be clear: At no time did the Secretary& #39;s office seek authority or request revisions to the election procedures manual with respect to conducting telephonic voter registration or virtual special election boards... 15/
... And as we near the general election, and with limited time to implement or vet such practices, we are not entertaining a discussion on these policies. 16/
We do not need Arizona’s votes hung up for weeks or months in litigation because election officials are bending the law.
As Governor @DougDucey has said: **Now is not the time to experiment.**
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As Governor @DougDucey has said: **Now is not the time to experiment.**
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