From creating rules for ballot drop-boxes to planning ways to automatically restore voting rights for felons, the governor’s task force has elaborated nearly 20 proposals to change Arizona’s electoral process. started to transform.
A bipartisan election task force has decided to move forward with 20 proposed election-related changes. Most of the proposals received unanimous approval from his 18-member group. Only two were rejected. Most of them are aimed at expanding voting access and ensuring election security.
The task force’s recommendations could lead to legislation in 2024, highlighting the bipartisan nature of the task force members.
Some of the early ideas were costly, including $6 million to upgrade election equipment and meet federal certification standards.
Other proposals, however, propose changes to existing practices, such as speeding up ballot counting and reducing waiting times on Election Day by creating a three-day “last weekend voting” period in which all voters can participate. are doing.
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The task force’s meeting on Thursday was billed as closed to the media, as was the group’s first meeting in April. But reporters from the Arizona Republic were able to attend the conference and stay there without any interruptions. Pima County Registrar Gabriela Cazares-Kelly was initially concerned that the media presence would dampen the lively debate, but later said she saw no evidence of that happening.
There is no certainty that any of the proposals submitted on Thursday will make it into the final report due on November 1st. Over the next three months, subgroups will continue to discuss and refine their ideas.
Gov. Katie Hobbs, who chaired the task force and was part of the meeting, emphasized the importance of developing ideas that will win the support of both Republicans and Democrats.
The proposals are grouped into five categories ranging from early voting issues to election security to voter registration.
The panel addressed the difficulty of recruiting poll workers. Proposals range from increased salaries to requiring employers to provide unpaid leave for polling staff.
The unpaid leave proposal was amended to apply to companies with 50 or more employees, following an amendment by Rep. Laura Terek (D-Phoenix). She explained that uniform requirements can have a negative impact on small businesses.
Another proposal to stem the loss of election officials is to create a fellowship program in elections offices statewide. It will expose young workers to the electoral world and serve as a gateway to the field. Passed with unanimous support.
While there was strong support for expediting automatic recounts, a rare event in the past was the 2020 presidential election, when state legislators narrowed the margin of victory that triggered recounts. and is likely to become even more common in the future.
Recommended Changes to Solicitations and Restoration of Voting Rights
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes supported a proposal to allow county elections offices to send election forms electronically. Fontos said the current law is designed to accommodate “pony expresses” because canvases must be mailed to offices. Canvas is a secondary check of election results by county at the state level.
The recommendation would also cut the time required for the Office of the Secretary to conduct a statewide investigation in half, limiting it to three days.
“We have to get through this,” Fontes said.
The committee spent time considering how to describe the guidelines on how to return ballots without using the term “drop box.” In 2022, the word became a harmful term, and wardens (some armed) stood guard at the ballot boxes.
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Yavapai County Registrar Michelle Burchill said after the meeting that there should be standards for practices such as drop-boxes and dropping ballots at polling places on Election Day.
As both people shaken by Dropbox and wary of monitors demand guidance on what they can and can’t legally do, Burchill said, “We’ve had pulls from all directions in the last year. I was being hit and pushed,” he said.
The task force has no concrete ideas yet other than an intention to amend the law on this act.
Former Maricopa County Recorder and Task Force Vice Chair Helen Purcell is leading a group investigating ways to enable automatic restoration of voting rights for convicted felons. Current practices are cumbersome and confusing, so we encourage you to identify their bottlenecks and suggest ways to streamline the process.
This proposal was also approved unanimously.
Only two proposals failed to get the 75% approval that the task force set as the standard for moving ideas forward.
One proposal was that the state Comptroller General be required to conduct a performance audit of the Office of the Secretary of State and three county elections offices in the year following the presidential election. Some commissioners citing the cost of conducting an extensive audit and the feeling that they could not get past a group of election skeptics regardless of the outcome, the plan fell through.
Task Force members also failed to pass a proposal to require all government buildings to serve as polling stations. The committee also supported the idea of a new pledge of allegiance for election officials, but the concomitant measures to expand background checks on election officials, including long-term agency workers, would encourage people to apply for election jobs. He declined out of fear that it might discourage him.
After obtaining 20 proposals, the task force will continue to consider ideas in smaller working groups, with a plenary session scheduled for October.
Here’s where to contact reporters: maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com Or contact her at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.
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