Another election is underway, and Arizona, unsurprisingly, is once again the butt of national jokes for processing ballots and counting votes for weeks.
And some people are in companies, media While we still try to defend our vote-counting circus, almost everyone agrees that major changes are needed. You don’t have to be an election expert to realize that states with much larger populations and higher early voting rates are somehow winning votes. counted On or near election night.
This is a long overdue fix. But the reforms have continued to face political conflict at the state Capitol for more than five years. Since 2019, our organization, the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, has supported, defended, and drafted legislation to ensure results on election night. And while Democrats in Congress have been an obstacle to reform (they have been outrightly opposed to any reforms aimed at achieving faster results), they have not been the only obstacle to solving the problem.
The real culprit is against the prefecture.”election administrator” For years, our so-called election experts have been working overtime to block reasonable reforms to Arizona’s vote-by-mail system. Their tactics are incredibly dishonest. When people express dissatisfaction with the glacial pace of vote-counting, they clap back (usually with dripping contempt) that their hands are tied by existing laws. But every time a member of Congress introduces a bill to amend these laws, those same election officials send an army of lobbyists to the Capitol to fight the reforms. (Related: Scott Mussi: Ranked voting came under fire this election)
We already know what their strategy will be. First, they will complain that the proposed aggregation amendment, used in a dozen other states, just won’t work here. And it will claim it does not have a position on a specific date for ending early voting to ensure faster results. But once Congress chooses a date (any date), it somehow becomes an “enforcement nightmare.” Implementation means implementation may cause some work, but implementation doesn’t like it.
The good news is that some of these obstacles appear to be clearing up. I am very encouraged by the appointment of the Republican Vice Chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. thomas galvin signaled support To bring about meaningful change in our electoral system. In addition, the election of a Reformed Recorder Justin Heap In Maricopa County, it should help overcome election administration resistance in the state’s most populous county.
In Arizona, there is actually a very simple way to speed up election results without restricting access to the ballot box or preserving or enhancing the integrity of the process. We can make elections safe, efficient, and accessible. First, by canceling early voting on the Friday before the election, election officials have time to process ballots before voting resumes on Election Day, and ballots can be counted as soon as polls close. and the results are ready to be published.
Allowing voters to count their early ballots on the spot after they present their ID, reducing the time it takes to verify signatures, remove ballots from envelopes, inspect them for defects, and count them. can be shortened. We’ll go one step further and ask for the goal ID. mail-in votinginstead of relying on subjective signature verification, counties will be able to quickly compare objective numbers.
Taken together, these modest reforms should move us closer to having a result on election night, or at the latest during election week. The question is whether “election officials,” taxpayer-funded lobbyists, and their friends in the media are ultimately willing to step aside and let the election happen.
Mr. Scotland Musi is the President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing a limited government agenda that fosters growth in Arizona.
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