washington dc — On Monday, June 12, Arizona Republicans passed House Bill 2722, which allows manual counting to replace electronic ballot counting in any county in the state. The bill is now set to be signed, or possibly vetoed, by Governor Katie Hobbs (Democrat). With a narrow Republican majority in both chambers, a potential veto cannot be overruled.
HB 2722 allows for hand counting during initial ballot counting if the county chooses to switch counting methods. Proponents of the bill, such as Scottsdale Rep. Alex Corrodin (Republican), argue that the bill only clarifies existing law. Says: “There is no law that requires county registries to count by machine in the first place.”
However, courts appear to be pushing back against this position. In Arizona, Cochise County and several other counties have attempted manual counting in 2022, sparking lawsuits. Ultimately, the court found that the Cochise County Board of Supervisors did not have the authority to extend standard charge audits to full charges.
Rep. Oscar de los Santos (Democrat), who opposes the bill, said: claimed “This irresponsible, inaccurate, unreliable, and completely broken electoral system is an attack on our democracy and fair, fair, and accurate elections in Arizona.” He cites the impracticality of counting by hand, Untrusted Nature as a potential problem.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, is also concerned about plans to switch from electronic to manual counting.At the beginning of this month, at the request of the prefecture Considering change Mr. Fontes said the election process could violate federal laws mandating voting equipment upgrades when necessary, as well as a state law called ”.county commission does not allowThese organizations are specifically given limited powers to scrutinize election results and unilaterally replace certified and tested electronic tallying devices. ”
The push for hand counting stems from claims made by Republican lawmakers in the state. accept an election denial conspiracysowed suspicion of existing electronic tallying systems.
Arizona isn’t the only state pursuing hand counting. After counting ballots by hand last fall, Nye County, Nevada, faced a lawsuit from the ACLU, alleging that the method “undermined the security of the ballot and jeopardized the right of voters to conduct accurate elections.” . Just recently, Shasta County, California, voted to hand-count all ballots in upcoming county elections, but the state legislature is trying to block the move.
Read HB 2722 here.
