For the first time in more than a dozen years, there is a vacancy in the Coconino County Recorder position. The job oversees early voting, which is preferred by about 80% of Arizonans. This comes as election officials continue to face allegations of fraud and are frequently targeted by misinformation.

At the end of the year, Coconino County Recorder Patti Hansen will end her nearly 40-year career in election administration. During that time, she says, the public’s perception of election officials has changed.

“Unfortunately, over the last eight or nine years, I think the problem has gotten even bigger that people don’t trust us,” Hansen said.

Trust is essential to the job of the recorder, who tracks property records in the county and also manages voter registration and early voting. But recently, the Coconino County Recorder’s Office has been the target of right-wing conspiracy theories and even threats of violence. That frustrates Hansen and is one of the reasons she is retiring.

“It was really hard. It took a huge toll,” she says. “It’s a shame because I think we’re a great country. I think what makes this country great is that we have a system of government that elects our leaders.”

It’s a system that Hansen hopes her successor continues, and she hopes it does. Democrat Aubrey Sonderegger, who is running to replace her, sees Hansen’s tenure as a success.

“This county has had a very low-drama, very effective, high-turnout election system for years and years. We want to continue to have a system that we trust.” speak

Mr. Sonderegger grew up in the Southwest and first became involved in politics through the county Democratic Party after the 2016 election. She has never held elected office or worked as a campaign official. But Mr. Sonderegger says his daughter also inspired him to run for office.

“How can I look her in the eye in 10 years and tell her what I did to keep this country functioning as a democracy?” she asks.

If elected, Sonderegger said he would give residents as many options as possible to vote via dropbox, mobile voting and other methods. But one of her main goals is to regain confidence in the process.

“Unsubstantiated claims that things are not right undermine people’s trust in a system that has proven to be extremely safe and extremely fair,” she says.

These baseless claims include claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, a conspiracy that has been roundly rejected by courts across the country. However, in a letter sent after the election, more than 20 current and incoming Arizona Republicans called on then-Vice President Mike Pence and Congress to order the state’s electoral votes, alleging fraud. requested that it be revoked. Among the signatories was outgoing Republican Congressman Bob Thorpe. He is currently challenging Sonderegger in the county recorder race.

“We need to make it easy for people to be confident that their vote is being properly recorded and to have confidence in the overall election process,” he says.

Thorpe now says he doesn’t necessarily support signing the letter, but Trump and many of his supporters are still making claims, without evidence, that the 2020 election will be affected. It is not yet known whether it was stolen or not.

“I think there needs to be a high level of diligence when it comes to voter integrity,” he says.

Thorpe has a background in IT and said as recorder he would focus on maintaining the county’s voter rolls. He said Sonderegger lacks experience and is not qualified for the job. Though Thorpe has never worked in a campaign office himself, he says his legislative experience gives him unique insight.

“To conduct fair elections here in Coconino County, we must understand and apply all applicable federal, state and local laws,” he says.

As a lawmaker, Thorp made numerous election decisions, including removing voter rolls, requiring reauthorization for successful voting efforts, and prohibiting on-campus addresses from being used to establish residency for voting. A related bill was proposed. This has concerned Thorpe’s critics like Sonderegger and other Democrats, but Thorpe has defended his work on Capitol Hill.

“I don’t believe that what I did there was going to set back voters’ rights,” Thorpe said.

Both candidates say voting should be easy and fair and have vowed to eliminate partisanship from the voting process. And in just over two weeks, one of them will take over the key role of giving Coconino County’s more than 100,000 registered voters a voice on Election Day.