Pinal County supervisors and elections staff were unaware of the problem with vote counting before proving the results of the November elections, officials said Wednesday.
But in the aftermath of the failed tally and disastrous primary election, the county board of oversight will discuss potential outcomes and changes to restore public confidence.
Options proposed by the regulator include asking state legislators to relax the board’s obligation to investigate or certify election results, and convening a series of special meetings to address witness testimony and evidence. will be
The county could also try to get the money back from former election commissioner Virginia Ross, who retired with a $25,000 bonus after the November election was believed to have gone smoothly. .
The county revealed last week that some ballots were tallied incorrectly, as it revealed a discrepancy of 500 votes between the certified election tally and the recounted results.
The problem arose after the primary election, when county elections staff sent incorrect ballots to 63,000 early voters and a quarter of the county’s polling places ran out of ballots on Election Day.
Located to the south and east of Maricopa County, the county is home to approximately 450,000 residents and has experienced rapid growth in recent years. About 140,000 voters cast their ballots there in the November elections.
Counting issues didn’t change the outcome of the two races for State Attorney General and State Superintendent of Schools. Many officials also said they believed the recount results were accurate.
But that doesn’t stop it from sowing suspicion. Newly tallied votes elected Chris Mays (Democrat) as Attorney General against Republican opponent Abe Hamade in one of the toughest election campaigns in Arizona’s history. ‘s lead narrowed, prompting Hamade to file a new motion challenging the result.
He also called on people to pack the Pinal County Board of Supervisors conference room for Wednesday’s meeting in a post that garnered more than 3,700 likes on Twitter.
“We seek answers from them as to why they withheld information from the court about the massive election discrepancy,” Hamade wrote in the post.
Only a handful of people spoke before the board on Wednesday morning.
When did Pinal County learn about the tallying problem?
Officials attempted to provide a timeline for how they discovered and investigated the counting issue at Wednesday’s meeting.
Kent Volkmer County Attorney said all votes were first tallied by Nov. 17 and the results were sent to the board that evening. The supervisor then certified them on November 21st.
“An investigation of the results is neither a celebration of results nor along those lines,” Volkmer said. “This is what was sent to us. This is the official one. I am sending it to the Office of the Secretary of State so that the challenge can begin.”
That same day, election administrator Geraldine Rohr began preparing for a recount. Officials were aware of Election Day issues with voter check-ins at some polling places. Some check-in stations did not scan my driver’s license correctly.
“We knew the poll pad numbers were reporting and the actual vote count didn’t match.” I didn’t think it had any impact on the vote totals.”
Related:Pinal County Election Results: 500 Vote Discord Was ‘Human Error’
Volkmer said Roll discovered the discrepancy on November 28th while investigating the issue. She confirmed there were no other possible explanations for the difference, which she reported to Volkmer on November 30.
“It’s the first time Pinal County has said ‘hmm’,” said Volkmer.
Volkmer said campaign staff began a thorough investigation and eventually, on Dec. 7, shortly after the recount began and days before Hamade submitted his campaign on Dec. 9, Arizona. I have reported the discrepancy to the Secretary’s office.
Volkmer said he hoped the calendar of events would put an end to “misinformation” when Pinal County officials knew about the issue. Rumors swirled that he knew the results were inaccurate, he said.
He refuted the allegation head-on.
“That is categorically false,” he said.
Tensions over Court Orders
County officials have also been criticized for not publicly addressing the issue until the results of the recount have been released.
Critics say that disclosing the issue to the judge or the public in Hamade’s election challenge could have changed the outcome of his case, which was ultimately dismissed.
But Volkmer said those with knowledge of the situation were gagged and trapped in a “cone of silence” by the ongoing recount.
“In the midst of our discovery, we were placed under a court order that we cannot publicly disclose this information to anyone.
Regulators Wednesday expressed tension and disagreement over whether undervaluation can still be talked about in general.
Supervisor Kevin Kavanaugh believes supervisors and other county officials are prohibited from disclosing the exact number of results, but are allowed to talk about errors.
Related:Jim O’Connor, who filed election fraud allegations, was elected leader of the Companies Commission
Volkmer called the interpretation “overly technical” and was also opposed by supervisors Mike Goodman, Stephen Miller and Jeffrey McClure. The point is that nothing can be said publicly about the situation before the results are read out in court.
“I walked out of these meetings thinking that this was never going to be published until the right time was right to do so,” Goodman said. “That’s where I am.”
Anyway, word came out ahead of the announcement of the recount. Conservative political consultant Constantine Kellard posted on Twitter the day before the results were announced that he in Arizona would have a disagreement in one county.
“From a credible source in a rural county — we found a significant number of votes during the recount,” he wrote.
Can Former Electoral Commissioners Get Bonuses?
To clean up a major mess, Pinal County offered former elections official Virginia Ross a lucrative deal: a $175,000 salary and a $175,000 salary in exchange for four months of work and a smooth November election. A $25,000 achievement award.
The agreement made her one of the top salaries in Pinal County and the highest paid election officer in Arizona’s largest county.
The bonus has already been paid, officials say. However, due to counting issues, some supervisors have questioned whether the county should require a refund.
First reported by The Republic, Ross’ contract spelled out exactly what she needed to do to win the award.
- Deliver accurate ballots in sufficient quantity to the correct polling place.
- Get your polling place open on time with the necessary equipment in place.
- Properly train polling place workers.
- Prepare for successful instrument accuracy testing.
- Submit all reports in accordance with state law.
- Coordinate with city and town officials.
Her bonus was also contingent on the findings of the board’s investigation.
Kavanaugh said he would like to talk about “collecting” the bonus at an upcoming informal board meeting, but did not provide details on how the county would revoke the award.
Ross’ bonuses aren’t the only election-related item up for debate. Kavanaugh proposed a series of special meetings to examine issues in the county’s primary and general elections. He wants the board to have the power to summon witnesses and evidence at hearings, he said.
Serdy said he hopes the county will discuss whether it should stick to a model of elections conducted jointly by the Registrar’s Office and the Elections Office, as it has done since 2017.
“If nothing else, we could have a discussion to clarify everything and see if there is room for improvement,” Serdi said.
Serdy also wants to consider the board’s obligation to certify election results.
“The last two elections have been a bit volatile. What if 2024 gets even worse and forces you to ‘yes’ for things you don’t want to ‘yes’ for?” is high. “I would like to have that argument to avoid it.”
Sasha Hupka covers regional affairs for Maricopa County, Pinal County, and the Republic of Arizona.Any tips for county government or county services? Contact her sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.comFollow her on Twitter. @SashaHupka.
