Election Incidents in Arizona Continue to Come In Through Election Integrity Watchdog App

Rachel Alexander

Voters concerned about election abnormalities in Arizona have been using the app VotifyNow to report suspicious incidents, and the app’s founder, Johnny Vieira, is starting to reveal some of the more common or serious complaints. One complaint revealed that a ballot may have been mailed to a convicted felon.

Vieira told The Arizona Sun Times that between 4,000 and 5,000 incidents have been reported across the country within the past week, but expects the bulk of the incidents to come in on Election Day and the day after. “There is still time to download the app and report incidents as this nefarious and suspicious activity is expected to continue for the next few days after the election,” he said. “On Election Day, the app reveals to users what incidents others are reporting.”

The VotifyNow user who reported a felon receiving a ballot said in their report, “My son-in-law, a felon, who has not applied to reinstate any privileges, received a mail in ballot for AZ. not sure of law, the only thing that I can think of is he purchased a house this past year and has a permanent address. ???”

Vieira said he’s also receiving reports of tabulators not working around the state, including in Scottsdale and Anthem. It is receiving national news coverage, and resulting in long lines.

Concerns about ballot harvesting came up in a report regarding manila folders. That user stated, “Earlier today at the Phoenix location to [sic] manila folders with ballots I believe in there were dropped into the Phoenix ballot box by two separate people. They were then picked up [by] the ballot box crew.”

Another complainant expressed concern over being sent an early ballot they never requested nor received. “I checked the Arizona.gov website and it says that I was sent an early ballot back in October,” the submission stated. “I never requested a ballot and also never received one. I plan on voting in person on election day and wonder where this ballot is that I never requested for me was sent to?”

One user said they received a voter registration card for someone else at their address. The VotifyNow Twitter account tagged Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer in a tweet on Nov. 5 asking them for a response, adding “Didn’t think so.” Both appear not to have responded. Richer frequently ridicules concerns of voter fraud from his Twitter account.

A similar complaint stated, “A registered Democrat has never resided at my address, even before I owned [the] house; yet I’m receiving official id cards.” The tweet received 667 retweets and 828 likes.

Another complainant blamed Hobbs and Richer for “ballots and ID cards sent to me” addressed to someone else. The user wrote, “Once again Stephen Richter [sic] and Soros funded Katie Hobbs can’t get their voter rolls clean.”

The VotifyNow Twitter account called out the pair again in a tweet on Nov. 5, “Can @katiehobbs @stephen_richer🤡🤡 or anyone from #Arizona explain how and why so many of the same type of incidents get reported onto #VotifyNow ? Waiting?” He included a copy of a complaint from someone stating they have still “been receiving voter information flyers in the name of the person I bought my house from over 20 years ago.” The user said they were concerned someone was still registered to vote using their address and continuing to vote as if they lived there.

The VotifyNow Twitter account added, “Maybe this particular one could be innocent but there’s so many others of people asking why they keep receiving so many mail in ballots That were never requested.”

One observer complained about a “news crew photo closer than 75 feet and blocking drop offs.”

Some reports may not rise to legal violations, and the app cautions users to check with federal, state, and local laws. Someone in Pima County accused an “election trainer” — presumably a government employee, likely with Pima County Elections — of telling “poll worker trainees that anyone can get a provisional ballot for any reason. He said even if they tell us they have already voted, we have to let them vote again and they are taking their chances of getting caught.” The user added, “He also said if someone brings in multiple ballots to drop off, we have to let them drop them off.”

Vieira has a section on the app for reporting voter suppression incidents, and said he’s received one complaint so far.

Last month, Vieira said many incidents were reported of voters receiving ballots in the mail addressed to other voters, often names not listed as the previous homeowners. Some voters said they had repeatedly asked to be taken off the permanent early voter list yet still received ballots.  Vieira notifies candidates, campaign managers, and sheriffs of the reports when appropriate.

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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Voting Place” by Lorie Shaull. CC BY 2.0. 

 

 

 

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