Rep. Melody Hernandez (D-Tempe) wondered why concerns weren’t present in the past, for example, when Republican Secretary of State Ken Bennett and Michele Reagan were on the ballot. 2014 When 2018Jones countered that times had changed since then and voter dissatisfaction had grown, with 71% of U.S. voters believing the midterm elections had “failed,” according to a poll by the partisan pollster Rasmussen Reports. According to the company, republican bias.

“Is there concrete evidence of misconduct from the Secretary of State during the 2022 election? Or does this just reflect hypothetical concerns from voters?” Oscar de Ros I asked Congressman Santos, D-Lavigne.

Jones reiterated that her concern lay in the perception of wrongdoing. He added. Under state law, the results of the recount are sent by the county to the Secretary of State for presentation to the judge. Any earlier publication of those results is expressly prohibited.

Mesa Republican Rep. Jacqueline Parker chairs the city’s Oversight and Elections Commission, and Hobbes will certify results to county registrars in Cochise and Mojave counties ahead of the statewide canvas. He said he was forced to do so.

“They certified that election under duress,” Jones agreed.

In fact, each county board of supervisors is required by state law to certify election results. Failure to do so may result in felony charges.

Their hesitation, based on unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, threatened to make Hobbes violate her own responsibilities, leaving her with no recourse. Ask a judge to order Cochise County supervisors to meet job requirementsHobbes’ office also sent letters to reticent county supervisors reminding them of their statutory responsibilities and the penalties for failure to do so.

Jody Liggett, a lobbyist for the League of Women Voters, opposed the bill.

“Of the 51 secretaries who ran for high office between 2002 and 2022, only three have publicly resigned in some way,” she said. “Not a single other state has enacted requirements for denial in situations like this. The league believes that solutions to very legitimate concerns already exist: the courts.”

Liggett noted that the means had already been sought in Arizona and failed to present a reasonable argument for involvement in the secretary of state’s election. Former GOP Congressman Mark Finkem, who lost his bid for Secretary of State, contested his loss, claiming that Hobbes had committed wrongdoing when he did not decline himself.that lawsuit Rejected due to lack of credible evidence.

The bill was ultimately approved 7-3, with one Democrat voting in favor along with Republicans on the committee.

Democratic Scottsdale Rep. Laura Terek agreed with the intent to codify election officials’ best practices into state law, but her future endorsement depends on who should take over from the secretary and what the election commissioner will be. He said it was conditional on adding an amendment as to whether the association should be taken over. The revised canvas looks like this: For example, the bill creates staffing requirements that could lengthen an already time-consuming process if the assistant secretary of state (usually the secretary of state’s successor) is forced to conduct an entirely separate investigation. Mr. Terech was concerned that he could.

Terek added that despite her support, she strongly disagreed with inappropriate concerns raised by Republicans on the panel about Hobbes’ involvement in the midterm elections.

“I want to make it clear that I do not believe there was any impropriety in the role played by the Secretary of State in the 2022 election,” she said.

Maricopa County Recorder Steven Richer was also criticized by legislators who objected to his outspoken criticism of election naysayers. The county’s early voting Republican leader has dismissed accusations of misconduct from party members as Political Action Committee of which he is a member — A committee that donates to the campaign of pro-democracy Republicans who don’t support election conspiracy theories.

House Bill 2378 Elections officials or employees who oversee the majority of elections are prohibited from participating in political action committees.

House Majority Leader Leo Biacicucci (R-Lake Havasu City) said the bill was an attempt to keep electoral officials from influencing the outcome of elections.

“It’s just like, ‘Look, if you’re an elected official or you’re involved in our election process, the PAC that is somehow determining what a ballot measure or a particular election should be. It should not be a part of,” he told committee members on Wednesday.

Hernandez wondered if her activities would come under scrutiny if she decided to endorse fellow candidates in the legislature or share campaign mail with them. He replied that he was exempt because he was not involved in the election.

Terek expressed concern that banning pollsters and volunteers from being politically active could lead to staffing shortages, as would a bill that would require the secretary of state to relinquish his duties. A request from D-Phoenix Rep. I was.

“If you’re at the point where you’re controlling the flow of money being spent on elections, you’re the one who invests so much in the outcome that it becomes difficult for the average person to avoid temptation. Collodin He added an amendment to expand the list of prohibited persons to include county supervisors, county registrars, and the secretary of state. Not because you have a direct stake, but because it’s[your]job now, or at least a side job.”

The bill was unanimously approved by all 10 committee members, with Democrats adding a warning that work is needed if the bill is to pass later.

Whitman Republican Rep. Austin Smith closed his final remarks by delivering the final blow to Richter.

“I can speak to this from personal experience,” he said. “In 2021, Recorder Richer, for the record, had a pro-democracy PAC involved in the Republican primary. I was one of them.”

Early voting signature verification was also targeted. House Bill 2322 It allows observers appointed by each political party to be present during signature verification and gives them the ability to challenge election officials’ decisions at polling places, vote centers, and other counting facilities.

Signature verification on early ballots became a tenet of election machinations during the 2020 election when Republican candidates began to question that process and support voting in person. Mail-in ballot suspicion 80% of Arizonas chooseThe scam resurfaced after the November midterm elections, when significant party disagreements emerged between mail-in ballots and voters on Election Day.

Jen Merson, a lobbyist for the Arizona County Association, has raised alarm bells about privacy concerns and the potential for unsubstantiated challenges to the bill.

“If you have a concerned citizen — not necessarily an electoral background, they just want to be invested in the process and make sure things are working — they I need to be trained to know what I am looking for,” she said. “Another thing we want to be aware of is that there is a lot of personally identifiable information in a voter’s file that is displayed on the screen when we are doing signature verification.”

The bill’s sponsor, Mr. Corrodin, said he was open to drafting amendments to address both of these issues. Merson hypothesized that testimony that observers agreed not to collect or distribute voter information might solve privacy concerns.

Still, Democrats on the committee were reluctant to jeopardize the private votes of Arizonas guaranteed by state law. All three Democrats voted against the bill, and it was passed by the committee in line with party line with the support of six Republicans.