Arizona’s Republican state senators declared Monday that the use of machines to count ballots is prohibited in Arizona counties, arguing that the non-binding resolution supersedes state law. The allegations were quickly denied by election officials, state attorneys general, and county leaders.
Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borelli sent a letter Monday to all 15 Arizona counties banning the use of any machines to administer future elections. He said Congress recently approved Concurrent Senate Resolution 1037 was bound under Radical Interpretation of Constitutional Provisions That would effectively allow the legislature to do whatever it wanted with regard to elections.
The core of the so-called “plenipotentiary” theory is that Congress can change electoral rules and administration at any time and as it pleases, without checks or balances by the judiciary or executive branch.
In this case, Borrelli said Governor Katie Hobbs ” vetoed the actual law While that would change state law to ban all election machines used in Arizona, there is no need to change law to ban these machines because of SCR1037.
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This resolution is merely a statement of Congress’s beliefs on the subject and does not carry the weight of law. The bill declared that voting equipment was critical infrastructure, that it should be “open source,” and manufactured entirely in the United States, and that certain machines could not be used in-state, allowing people to count, vote, or outright ban the use of electronic devices to record vote counts. .
The idea that this resolution could override state law Explicitly allow machine use in Arizona electionswhich tightly regulates what can be used in what manner, has been heavily condemned by state and county leaders.
“Concurrent Senate Resolution 1037, which expresses our intention to limit the use of certain electronic voting machines, is non-binding and non-enforceable,” said Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. said in a statement on Twitter. “If any of these requirements or the certification process were to change, a regular bill would have to pass through Congress and be signed by the governor, but that is not the case in this non-binding resolution. , to the AG office.”
Arizona law requires election tools to be certified by both the state and federal governments, with specific requirements at each stage of the process. This resolution seeks to avoid this process entirely.
“The Attorney General agrees with (Fontes’) legal assessment of this matter,” Attorney General Chris Mays’ spokesman Richie Taylor told the Arizona Mirror. “The SCR is non-binding and has no legal impact. We have not formulated any official position on the Senator’s letter.”
In a letter sent to 15 Arizona counties, Borrelli said: Article 1, paragraph 4, paragraph 1 The U.S. Constitution gives state legislatures the power to make such changes to elections. This legal theory of state legislatures and “plenipotentiary” has become a focus of some on the right and has been promoted by lawyers such as John Eastman.
Eastman was one of former President Donald Trump’s lawyers, and in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 riots, Eastman lobbied former Vice President Mike Pence’s lawyers to “overturn the election results.”main authority”
who is eastman California faces deprivationgave a similar speech to former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, telling lawmakers,original rightto reverse President Trump’s 2020 defeat in Arizona.Eastman too wrote a note Some people keep calling it.coup memo,” quoting the same article in the Constitution that Borelli said in a letter to the counties of Arizona.
Maricopa County Oversight Board Chairman Clint Hickman said in a statement to the Mirror, “A single Arizona senator enacts laws or directs other branches of government to act contrary to state law. I can’t,” he said. “Arizona law requires the use of a tallying device to count paper ballots. , the Board of Supervisors will appropriate the funds necessary to acquire EAC-certified equipment in order to conduct accurate and safe elections as required by state law.”
The resolution cited by Borrelli in his letter also specifically addressed one of the election tools. Dominion ImageCast X has been found to have the following features: some vulnerabilities However, the vulnerability is limited. In his CISA report on ballot stamping machines, the villain said:Requires physical access to individual ImageCast X devices, access to the Election Management System (EMS), or the ability to modify files before they are uploaded to the ImageCast X device. ”
The report also notes that many of the jurisdictions deploying these devices are using mitigations already in place as a “standard practice” required to prevent security vulnerabilities. also points out. CISA also found “no evidence that these vulnerabilities were exploited in elections.”
The device in question is used only in Maricopa County and is electronic ballot marking Machines are for limited use only in Arizona. While paper ballots are used statewide, ballot marking machines are used for voters with disabilities who are unable to physically use paper and pen. (The machine will continue to print physical ballots and tabulate them side by side with other ballots.)
“This is a resolution about election facilities and systems, not a law,” Pima County Elections Commissioner Constance Hargrove told The Mirror. “This is not legally enforceable, it is the opinion of lawmakers.”
And Mr. Borrelli’s letter has not been endorsed by Republican leaders in the state Senate. Senate Republican Press Secretary Kim Quintero said the letter was sent as an “independence” of the caucuses led by Senate Speaker Warren Petersen. She directed additional questions to Borelli.
Borrelli did not respond to a request for comment.
