Written by Howard Fisher
capitol media services
PHOENIX — Want election results sooner?
Senate President Warren Petersen says the answer is simple: ban voters from dropping off early ballots at polling places on Election Day.
That’s the way it is in Florida, he said. And he wants to introduce a bill in the upcoming Congress to make that happen here.
But Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said there were “other systemic issues” in the fact that it would take several days to get the final tally, adding to the time voters have to return their ballots. He said that simply shortening the timetable would not be the solution.
“I don’t like solutions that limit access,” Fontes said.
“I don’t like solutions that limit voters’ ability to vote when and how they want. I don’t like to do something like this on the backs of voters,” he said.
Pima County Recorder Gabriela Cazares Kelly agrees.
He said the room for early voting is already small enough. And that period is even shorter than the calendar’s 27 days, given the time it takes for the Postal Service to deliver ballots from county offices to voters.
Additionally, there are delays in returns through the U.S. Postal Service, which can take up to five days, she said. And unlike some states where postmarks matter, ballots that aren’t in the hands of counties by 7 p.m. on Election Day won’t be counted.
But Maricopa County Commissioner Stephen Richer supports a proposal that would allow early ballots to be dropped off at county offices or polling places until 7 p.m. on the Friday before the election. He also said an earlier deadline could allow states to know 95% of their results within the first 24 hours, given that early voting currently accounts for nearly 90% of all ballots. said.
Still, he acknowledged that this would mean an inconvenience for some people.
“Many Arizonans have been voting ‘early’ for years and may be surprised, confused and outraged by a ban on this practice,” Richer wrote in an opinion piece on election issues.
All of this comes as news reports Thursday afternoon indicated that while more than 2.5 million ballots had already been counted, nearly 953,000 more were yet to be counted.
Not surprisingly, the largest share is in Maricopa County at about 584,000 people, with an additional 175,000 in Pima County.
However, processing is still underway in smaller counties, with Yavapai County having about 95,000 cases already counted, and nearly 60,000 cases left uncounted.
The crux of the issue, Petersen said, is why voters are asking why some Arizona states remain undecided while other states appear to be able to call races on election night. He said it was confusing and confusing. These include not only the high-profile race for the U.S. Senate between Ruben Gallego and Kali Lake (who led by about 50,000 votes as of late Thursday), but also multiple congressional districts. The outcome will determine whether Republicans retain control. of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
But Fontes said there are other things to consider if the state prohibits early ballots from being mailed after Friday night.
He said that for some reason, some people want to wait until the last moment. She said that deadline means that whether they go to an emergency voting site on Saturday, Sunday or Monday, not all counties have such options and all those people will have to wait in line to vote in person. That means you have to vote, otherwise you have to go vote.Long lines were already forming on election day.
“It’s going to take that long,” Fontes said.
Richer acknowledged that about 290,000 people voted early on Election Day in 2022.
Now they just go to the polling place, put the envelope in the box and leave. Fontes said if the plan goes into effect, these are the people who will have to wait in check-in lines, show identification and fill out ballots.
“And we’re going to need more polling places, more equipment,” he continued. “And I’m talking about tables and extension cords and equipment that are very hard to come by. And people will be working in all of those facilities.”
But Richer said Florida, which has a larger population than Arizona, shows the process can work.
There, voters can return their early ballots on election day, but only to the central elections office.
“But you can’t drop off your early ballot at a polling place,” he said.
“As a result of this restriction, approximately 4,400 early votes were canceled on Election Day in Florida’s largest county (Miami-Dade),” Richer said, compared to 290,000 in Maricopa County. There is.
Petersen said voters in the Sunshine State have managed to overcome this restriction.
“There’s no rebellion or riot going on there,” he said.
Regardless, Petersen said it’s not like Arizonans don’t understand deadlines.
“You know your ballot must be mailed by Tuesday to ensure it’s in the hands of election officials by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Postmarks don’t count.”
“Everyone seems to have accepted it,” he said.
Petersen said this only pushes the deadline for early voting to Friday at 7 p.m.
“Then you have to vote in person. Why does that matter?” the Senate president said.
The question is, what are the trade-offs, Fontes said? He said if lawmakers want to go down that path, they could make it more accessible than they currently do by allowing affected people to vote in person on the Saturday, Sunday, and Monday before the election, rather than having to wait in line on Election Day. He said it was necessary to do so. .
That’s not the case now.
Cazares-Kelly said there are only 18 early voting locations in Pima County. That compares to 126 openings on election day.
Additionally, in Maricopa County, centers are only open on the Saturday and Monday before elections, and are closed on Sundays.
Petersen said getting results sooner could solve other problems.
“A lot of people think this is creating mistrust. They don’t have results, so they feel like something is going on,” he said.
That reasoning leaves Fontes cold.
“They stopped believing in conspiracy theories,” Fontes said of the process to certify this year that Donald Trump won the state’s 11 electoral votes, as he did four years ago when he lost to Joe Biden. I have to,” he said. , a year of demonstrations and accusations of election fraud and even a Senate-ordered audit that ultimately confirmed Biden’s lead over Trump.
“I’m happy to have a conversation with anyone,” Fontes said.
“But if you end up having a conversation with someone slamming their fist on the table and yelling, ‘Stop stealing,’ that’s no use. There’s no reason to have that conversation because that person isn’t going,” he said. Ta. If they approach this issue in good faith, they’re not going to have a rational conversation. ”
Petersen acknowledged that the issue goes beyond people who suspect something sinister. He said many people don’t understand why things don’t happen instantly.
“You order something from Amazon, you take a shower, and when you get out of the shower it’s delivered to your door,” Petersen said.
“They want to know, ‘Why are we waiting?'” “The question is, why should we wait,” he said.
Fontes acknowledged that returning early could be a “matter of preference.”
“If it’s a top priority, it’s not a difficult problem to solve,” he says.
He said much of the problem is in Maricopa County.
“They’re going to need a warehouse or two, they’re going to need a huge number of people, probably three or four times as many as they currently have, and they’re going to be able to process ballots much more quickly,” Fontes said. he said. and other “systemic issues” that contribute to the length of time it takes to get final voting results.
“But I’m not going to turn this issue around on the backs of voters,” Fontes said.
Even if Petersen were able to get such a change through Congress, that still wouldn’t make it law.
It must be signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs, who held the same job as Mr. Fontes. And press aide Christian Slater said he didn’t see a need for it.
“As the state’s former elections director, Governor Hobbs opposes any proposal that would limit the freedom of Arizonans to make their voices heard at the polls,” Slater said. Arizona voters are guaranteed safe, secure, and fair elections. ”
The governor’s opposition was already expected.
A similar plan to set a Friday deadline for early voting was approved by the Senate Government Committee earlier this year, not as a bill but as a mail-in-the-ballot plan. However, this proposal failed to pass the legislative process.
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