Mohave Today

Approval of sweeping election reform legislation sponsored by Sen. Kelly Townsend (R-Mesa) could be off until June 10 as Arizona Republican legislative leaders sent rank-and-file members home over an impasse on a state spending plan. 

Leaders could call members back earlier than June 10 if they can muster enough votes to pass the budget. But Townsend told Mohave Today that she made it clear that she is a “no” vote on the budget unless they agree to move her election reform legislation, SB 1241, at the same time.

Earlier this week the House was poised to send Townsend’s bill, with agreed-to amendments, back to the Senate for concurrence, but a key Republican vote, Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-Scottsdale), in a narrowly divided state Senate, was absent.

Among other reforms, Townsend’s legislation requires that all official elections be granted an unobstructed view of all election activities, including views of the connection and removal of any removable external devices from voting equipment until all election data is officially recorded, or the removable device is stored securely.

Passage of the bill should be a relief to Lori Gray, an official observer of the 2020 general election at a Phoenix location. In late November, Gray signed a declaration saying that she and other election observers were relegated to a small area in large room where ballots were opened. She estimated that they were at least 30 feet away from the election workers.

“We were told to use binoculars if we wanted to see what they were doing,” she wrote. “I did not have binoculars. It was virtually impossible to view ballots being open in this room.”

Gray also wrote that when she asked around about the “process of duplicated ballots [done when ballots are damaged] being sent to printing company and then picked up by county employee[s)] it was explained to me that there were no observers or escorts going with them and no observers at the printing company.”

She also wrote, “On the last day of tabulation, I asked how many duplicate ballots were processed. I was told they didn’t know. Every ballot that needed duplication was scanned and put in a cue to be duplicated. I would like to know what that number is.”

Townsend’s bill contains strict guidelines covering the duplication process, including requiring witnesses to the duplications of early voting ballots that have been damaged.