Mojave County officials plan to draft a plan that could hand-count next year’s elections. But it remains to be seen whether the plan will gain momentum.
On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borelli announced a proposal to reduce Mojave County’s reliance on electronic voting systems and favor manual counting of ballots in the 2024 election. Meanwhile, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes warned the Mojave County Oversight Board this week that such a course of action could put the county in legal jeopardy. But Mr. Borrelli’s proposal came as the county board entered this year’s budget session with a deficit of $4 million and is expected to face a deficit of $18.5 million next year. Manual counting can be an expensive proposition for
Borelli addressed the Mojave County Oversight Board with Sen. Wendy Rogers of Flagstaff earlier this week to advance Senate Resolution 1037, which was passed in Phoenix earlier this year. The resolution is not legally binding and recommends local governments to avoid using voting machines as the primary means of counting and tallying future elections.
They’re unlikely to be counted by hand, District said. 4 Supervisor
The regulator voted 4-1 to direct county elections staff to create a plan that could be hand-counted for next year’s election. But District 4 Superintendent Gene Bishop, who opposed the resolution, said a handcount may be unlikely.
“It seems like a waste of resources to spend county officials and resources trying to come up with a tamper-response study that you’re never going to do anyway,” Bishop said Wednesday. “Machines are more reliable.”
If counties stop using voting machines, counties could be responsible for hiring, training, and ultimately paying for hand counters to assist in future elections. And according to Bishop, this may be a change the county simply cannot accept.
“We’re at a $4 million deficit,” Bishop said. “We can’t afford that. But the big force behind this resolution is Sonny Borelli. This is his hometown and he’s very popular here. If you can’t make it here, where are you going?” I can’t do it either.”
Even if the prefecture wants it, it may not be possible
“We can’t find enough people to sit as poll workers at the moment, let alone spend the next two months counting votes,” Bishop said Wednesday.
And after the general election is over, Mojave County doesn’t have two months to manually count ballots. Under Arizona law, each county is required to research the results of each general election within 20 days of election day. If hand counts are applied to the 2024 elections, officials will have a hard time meeting the deadlines, county officials said. And failure to do so could result in legal action against Mojave County by the Arizona Secretary of State. Failure to meet that deadline could result in the Mojave County ballot being excluded from the statewide tally.
Mojave County No. 3 Superintendent Buster Johnson said this week, “Even if the county weren’t in debt, I don’t think a manual tally would be possible in the time period in which an election must be counted, verified and certified.” Told. “If that happens, Mojave County votes will not count in the election.”
Warning from the Secretary of State
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes issued a statement Wednesday, warning that Mojave County’s decision to support the adoption of hand counts for the 2024 election could violate state law.
Fontes said, “If there is a plan to start a full hand count for future elections, would violating state law expose these officials to serious legal risks, including criminal liability?” I’m afraid it will,” he said. “County officials are urged to consider the adverse effects on the electoral system, voters, and taxpayers that would result from the introduction of electoral procedures that have no legal basis or proof of concept, increasing the risk of error.”
In a letter to the county board, Mr. Fontes said he had three concerns about decisions that could lead to manual ballot counting in next year’s election.
The first of those concerns concerned the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The law requires a state plan and proof of compliance with applicable laws and requirements. The voting system that Arizona employs is approved for use under her HAVA, allowing for speed and accuracy in elections throughout Arizona.
Fontes also said that even before the Help America Vote Act was enacted, Arizona maintained safe and efficient ballot counting based on state law and the Arizona Election Procedures Manual, which was bolstered by federal requirements and funding. claimed. These requirements will ensure Arizona’s elections are fair and accurate, Fontes said.
“State law mandates pre- and post-election logic and accuracy testing of election equipment, and also provides for post-election count audits,” Fontes said. “State laws and election procedure manuals prescribe various layers of security to ensure that a single point of failure does not lead to failure of the entire system.”
According to Fontes, counting by hand only increases the potential factor for human error, which hampers both the security and reliability of the elections that SCR 1037 hopes to achieve.
Fontes added, “Full head count raises a lot of legal as well as logistical concerns. About 50,000 Mojave County voters turned out in the 2022 primary. In the election, that number increased to 82,758.Turnout is likely to be even higher in the 2024 election…Even assuming the final result is correct, state law does not allow election results to be counted. The county commission, which has been specifically granted limited powers to investigate, has not authorized the unilateral substitution of certified and tested electronic tallying devices.”
Fontes said hand-counting ballots raises additional concerns about security and ballot storage processes and could threaten Mojave County’s ability to publish election results within 20 days after an election, as required by state law. says that there is
explore the possibilities
The Mojave County Board of Supervisors has yet to discuss or decide whether next year’s election will be hand-counted, but it’s possible that regulators will be happy to entertain this week.
“I think we need to do some sort of report on what exactly will be needed,” District 2 supervisor Hildi Angius said this week. “If you take a moment and do some kind of report on how many people[the electoral department]needs… realistically, you’re going to present it to the public and say, ‘If you want this, this is going to happen.’ You could say ‘taken’. We will know exactly where we stand. Because for now things just keep going and nothing seems to change. People will stop voting, but we don’t want that to happen. ”
But according to Mojave County Election Commissioner Allen Tempert, tallying the numbers is no easy task.
“On average, 21 races were included in the 2020 general election ballot,” Tempert said at a Monday meeting. “They must all be completed, and all must be completed correctly.”
Tempert suggested the department could sample ballots from Mojave County’s last two elections, hand-count them, and explore the possibility of countywide hand-counting in 2024.
But in his 20 years as county elections manager, Tempert never had a problem with an electronic voting machine.
“I’ve been tested for years and have never lost a penny on any test I’ve ever had,” Tempert said.
Arguments Against Counting Ballots by Hand
Borrelli addressed the Mojave County Board of Oversight earlier this week in support of Senate Resolution 1037 and its arguments against electronic voting in Arizona counties. Borrelli said the issue is a matter of national security.
Unless all parts of the voting machines used in Arizona are made in the United States and the source code for such devices is submitted to the State General Assembly, the resolution does not allow each county to count ballots in future elections. And we should rely on other means for aggregation.
“If we can’t have free and fair elections, we’re in trouble,” Borrelli said. “If these machines are vulnerable to hacking, we want to make sure nobody updates them remotely, even wirelessly[machines].”
Borrelli noted the Cochise County Supervisory Authority’s efforts last year to hand-count ballots for the 2022 election. The effort sparked a lawsuit by then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, but Borelli appears to have suggested it was a deliberate effort to delay the tally until the state’s Nov. 26 solicitation deadline. .
“Do you remember that day, people? Because they threatened you with a felony if you didn’t prove the election results by that deadline,” Borrelli said, referring to Mojave County’s own reluctance to hold the 2022 general election. He spoke while touching on the fact that This reluctance grew out of protests over election mishandling by Maricopa County officials that year.
Earlier this year, Borrelli introduced bill SB 1074 in an attempt to challenge the prevalence of voting machines in Arizona counties. The bill contained the same mandate against the use of electronic voting machines as SCR 1037, but would have been legally binding. The bill was eventually vetoed by Governor Katie Hobbs in April.
“I’m sure you will be sued,” Borelli said in his testimony. “If they want to sue, so be it. Come on. I have the army behind me, ready to fight.”
Borelli’s final term in the Arizona Senate is set to end in 2024. Earlier this year, Borelli hinted that he could run for a seat on the Mojave County Supervisory Board in a future election.
