Governor Katie Hobbs on Wednesday appointed Scottsdale City Clerk Ben Lane to a bipartisan election task force.
Created by Executive Order 2023-03 in January, the Governor’s Bipartisan Election Task Force was established to conduct research and make recommendations to strengthen Arizona’s election laws, policies, and procedures, according to a press release. I was. This task force is made up of experts from across the Arizona electoral community, representing a variety of political and geographic backgrounds.
The group plans to submit a final report to the governor by November, which includes recommendations for improving the state’s election laws.
“Arizona voters deserve a free, fair, and safe electoral system. We will continue to work on electoral reform,” said Governor Hobbs.
Lane has overseen three elections in Scottsdale since taking office in March 2021.
He holds a BA in Political Science from Texas A&M University, a Law degree from the University of Texas Law School, and a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Prior to his current position, he spent more than 10 years as a Deputy City Clerk in Phoenix, managing campaign finance, early voting, and Election Day functions for elections held by more than 15 cities.
Lane is a member of the Arizona City Officials Association, the Arizona City/County Administration Association, and the United States Government Association. He has been designated as a Certified Elections Officer by the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.
“I am very honored to be on this task force,” said Lane. “I would like to thank the Arizona Federation of Cities and Municipalities for nominating me. I have.”
Members of the Bipartisan Election Task Force are:
- Adrian Fontes, Arizona Secretary of State
- Ken Bennett, State Senator First District
- Laura Terek, District 4 Provincial Representative
- Gabriella Cázares-Kelly, Pima County Recorder
- Michelle Burchill, Yavapai County Recorder
- Helen Purcell, former registrar of Maricopa County
- Scott Jarrett, Maricopa County Elections Administrator (Election Day and Emergency Voting)
- Alma Schultz, Santa Cruz County Election Administrator
- Ben Lane, city employee of Scottsdale
- Michael Moore, Information Security Officer, Maricopa Recorder’s Office
- Ken Matta, Election Security Expert
- Patty Ferguson-Bohnee Attorney, Director, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law Indian Legal Clinic
- Alex Gulotta, All Voting is Local, Arizona Director
- Don Henninger, Carter Center, President
- Renaldo Fowler, Senior Staff Advocate, Arizona Center for Disability Law
- Christina Estes-Werther, Former Arizona Election Administrator and Attorney
- Brad Nelson, former Pima County elections official
Readers are encouraged to share their views of the public, whether for or against this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
