If there's one thing we have learned in the last few years, it's that machines fail. They can be compromised and break down.
They broke down already in 2022.... with ballots that couldn't be scanned by machines, because they were the wrong size. That "mistake" swung the election.
It's time to allow our counties to conduct their elections by counting paper ballots.
A bill meant to add transparency to Arizona’s elections is approaching its final hurdle in the Legislature.
HB 2722, sponsored by Representative Gail Griffin, “authorizes the officer in charge of elections, the county recorder or any person who is designated by the county board of supervisors to count all or any portion of the ballots in an election by hand” – according to the purpose provided by the Arizona Senate.
In a statement to the House Municipal Oversight & Elections Committee, Representative Griffin explained the purpose of her legislation: “It’s a simple bill. It allows the counties to do a hand count. We believe that they already have the authority to do it, but this clarifies it.”
Last month, Griffin’s bill cleared the Arizona House by a party-line 31-28 vote – with one member (Representative Shah) not voting. Before the action from the full chamber, HB 2722 passed the House Municipal Oversight and Elections Committee with a 6-4 tally; all Republicans voting in favor of the legislation and all Democrats in opposition).
After the House transmitted this bill to the Senate, it was assigned to the Elections Committee, chaired by Senator Wendy Rogers. Rogers recently brought HB 2722 up for consideration, and it passed out of her committee with another party-line vote of 5-3.
During the committee hearing, Representative Griffin stopped by to testify for her bill. She told the members of the committee that she had worked with the Cochise County Recorder David Stevens on the bill’s language.
Senator Rogers had the final word on the bill before it officially passed her committee, saying, “Whatever it takes to get accurate, reliable results – because 250 years of blood and treasure have been spilled for our sacred vote.” She also read a 2019 quote from then-U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, which stated: “This shouldn’t be a controversial statement: The United States must embrace hand-marked paper ballots.”
We are moving on this. It's happening.
We had well-conducted and timely elections for centuries before machines were involved. Machines have been the cause of severe and crippling problems in our elections.
The Democrats are attacking me even now, in the most vile and personal terms. My re-election will be the most hotly contested in Arizona.
PAID FOR BY WENDY ROGERS FOR AZ SENATE
Wendy Rogers is a retired member of the Air Force. Use of military rank, job titles, and photographs in uniform does not imply endorsement by the Department of the Air Force or the Department of Defense.
