Maricopa County Commissioner Thomas Galvin is the latest Republican to call on lawmakers and Gov. Katie Hobbs to pass reforms to speed up vote counting in Arizona elections.

Maricopa County took 11 days to count the more than 2 million votes cast in the Nov. 5 election, consistent with historical norms and expectations set by county officials days before the election. We are doing so.

Galvin said the schedule is due to state election law, including a provision that allows voters to drop off early mail-in ballots until Election Day.

“So we’ve seen firsthand what the effects are of the state laws that we have to follow,” Galvin said. “First of all, it’s about voters and their expectations about when their votes will be counted, but also about all the employees who participate in this process and are under considerable stress and pressure along the way. The same goes for volunteers.”

Galvin said changes could be made, such as moving up the deadline for voters to return early ballots so counties can report 95% of their results on Election Night. This is similar to a proposal supported by other Republicans, including Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer and Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert), who would extend the deadline to the Friday before the election. He says he wants to adopt Florida-style laws. day.

Mr. Galvin said he supports moving the deadline back to Friday, “or even earlier,” and has received positive feedback from Republicans, including Mr. Petersen and House Speaker-elect Steve Montenegro (R-Goodyear). He said he received a response.

The collaboration between Galvin, who will be the longest-serving Republican on the Board of Supervisors next year, and legislative leaders comes after years of friction between the Republican-controlled Board of Supervisors and Republican lawmakers.

It all started before Mr. Galvin took office, after the 2020 presidential election as a board member. Tried to dispel unproven allegations that widespread fraud affected the election and was addressed; The much-maligned so-called audit of the Arizona State Senatewhich Petersen helped direct.

But Galvin, who has staunchly defended county elections since taking office in 2021, said his proposed reforms are not rooted in such conspiracies. He touted his proposals as common-sense reforms that would speed up vote counting to improve the experience for voters and election workers.

“What I want to say is that I think I have a reputation for not being an election denier or conspiracy theory trafficker,” he said. “I really hope that what I’m proposing here gets traction, because in the name of election integrity, if the majority of ballots were counted by election night, Arizona Because I believe the overall situation will be much better.”

However, Democratic Gov. Hobbs has already indicated that he will not agree to changing the early voting deadline.

Asked about the proposal, Hobbs said, “Anything that makes it harder for Arizonans to vote is a no to me, and my policy has been and will continue to be no. That includes early voting flexibility. ” he said.

Galvin disputed Hobbs’ argument that delaying the deadline would disenfranchise Arizona voters.

“I think it’s just going to change the behavior of Arizona voters,” Galvin said. “But I think Arizona voters are very smart and will change their behavior and react accordingly.”

Galvin is pushing for other state law changes that could expand access, including a proposal to eliminate in-person early voting during emergencies. This is currently allowed days before an election for individuals who can prove that an emergency situation prevents them from voting in the election – in-person voting is available to all voters on the Saturday and Monday before the election. I will do so.

“If you want to vote in person before Election Day, you have to do it that weekend, but it has to be for an emergency reason and you have to sign a piece of paper proving it’s an emergency,” he said. “This is called emergency voting, so we just want to move emergency voting to full in-person voting.”

A third proposal to use more government buildings as polling places. It reflects the recommendations made by the campaign committee convened by Hobbs. The governor ultimately signed an executive order allowing state facilities to be used as polling places.