Phoenix (3TV/CBS 5) — Maricopa County Registrar Steven Richer suggests some changes to election laws in a report released Thursday morning. This includes proposals to stop voters from canceling early voting on Election Day. Proposals range from administrative to allowing independents to vote in presidential elections for any party, usually held in March.
The proposal comes after the November election, which focused voters and the nation at large on Arizona, and Maricopa County in particular.One big question many had was why It took nearly two weeks to count all the ballots.Richer, then Bill Gates of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, said: Late return of early votes The biggest reason it took so long to determine the results of the election compared to other US states with early voting is.
Resolving late early voting issues
Richer has three suggestions for fixing early voting delays. The first and cleanest solution, according to Richer, is to “rule out” early voting by requiring a 5 p.m. However, early ballots sent by mail were still accepted after the deadline, and voters who missed the deadline could drop their early ballots at national registrars or special drop-off locations. Residents can also vote in person on Election Day. His two other proposals keep the 7 p.m. drop-off time on Election Day as it is today.
The second proposal is as-is, but you don’t have to sign the ballot envelope. However, you may not post ballots for family members or other household members. A third proposal is to allow election officials to receive ballots throughout Election Day, rather than restricting them to receiving ballots after 9:00 p.m.
Extend Election Day
Current law requires on-site ballot counting to take place only on Election Day. Richer is proposing extending Election Day to his four days, Saturday through Tuesday. This, he argues, will be achieved by removing the emergency voting period implemented by the Supervisory Board, as it is only available to voters “experiencing an emergency” by law. This change also allows field counters to run for multiple days. That’s because, Richer said, the machines are only allowed to run for the first time on Election Day.
“It’s a dangerous framework,” he says. “Election Day is by far the busiest day of the poll and should not be the first day the equipment is used. Instead, counties should be able to start counting on-site before Election Day.”
The rest of the suggestions are below or Maricopa County Recorder Website.
Copyright 2023 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.
