Arizona is the epicenter of the fight for voting rights today. That’s what some are saying about our state. At least our president hasn’t bestowed us with a Jim Crow badge yet.
To be sure, there are many things wrong with the Arizona state election system. We seem to be repeating the same mistakes over and over. But fixing them requires more than finger-pointing and lawsuits between political parties. The issues need to be addressed individually, like eating an elephant and donkeys as well; it can’t be done in one sitting.
This is the first in a series of blogs to examine these issues.
Conflicts of interest
- In 2021 Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer (R) created a Political Action Committee, Pro-Democracy Republicans of Arizona. The PAC will support candidates in GOP primaries for legislative and county-level races “who acknowledge the validity of the 2020 election and condemn the events of January 6 2021 as a terrible result of the lies told about the November election.” The problem is that Richer is an election official, spending money on elections that his office will oversee. The risk is allegations of impropriety from candidates the PAC opposes.
- Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has been elected governor in the 2022 election. The problem is that the Secretary of State runs and oversees the election. This might have gone unnoticed if the election ran smoothly. But it did not. There were equipment issues that will be addressed in another blog.
The Arizona legislature must address conflicts of interest in the election process.
Require election officials to resign their positions once they announce their candidacy for any elected office. Prohibit election officials from actively participating in Political Action Committees that support a particular party or candidate.
