Tag: hand count ballots

We the People AZ Alliance Introduces AVII Ballot Hand Count Method to Senate Elections Committee, Already Adopted by Maricopa County Republicans

Rachel Alexander
Shelby Busch

The Senate Elections Committee heard a presentation from We the People AZ Alliance (WPAA) co-founder Shelby Busch on Monday regarding its plan for restoring trust in elections by including hand counts of ballots.

Both the Arizona Republican Party, the Maricopa County Republican Committee (MCRC), and Arkansas Republicans have already implemented the AVII method, which is known as the Arkansas Voter Integrity Initiative, in its party elections. Republicans in Arkansas want to make the AVII method law by putting the question to voters as a constitutional amendment.

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Mohave County Supervisor Ron Gould Sues AG Kris Mayes over Her Threats to Prosecute Him for Voting to Hand Count Ballots

Rachel Alexander
Mayes Gould

Mohave County Supervisor Ron Gould filed a lawsuit against Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes over her threat to prosecute him if he voted in favor of conducting a hand count of the 2024 election. He asked the court in the complaint, which was filed on January 19, to rule “[t]hat Plaintiff should not be subjected to threats and intimidation by the Attorney General for voting to have hand counting be the primary initial method of vote tabulation.”

Represented by Wilenchik & Bartness, Gould described the threat, “This case is about an elected official potentially losing his liberty and being jailed as a criminal, if Defendant Mayes is correct, for voting according to his conscience, and pursuant to the will of his constituents, based on election statutes that appear not to bar his intended support for vote counting based on hand counting and not the use of electronic voting machines.”

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A.G. Kris Mayes Initiates Prosecution of Cochise County Supervisor Who Questioned Voting Machines, Delayed Certification, and Attempted to Hand Count Ballots

Rachel Alexander

Cochise County Supervisor Tom Crosby, who sought to eliminate the use of voting machine tabulators in the 2022 election, delay certification, and conduct a hand count of ballots, received a grand jury summons from Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes earlier this month. The summons does not indicate what he is being investigated for, but he has tangled with Democratic officials over his concerns about election fraud.

Crosby and fellow Cochise County Supervisor Peggy Judd voted 2-1 against the lone Democrat on the board in favor of a hand count of last year’s election in October 2022, after receiving a letter from Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jim O’Connor threatening legal action if voting machine tabulators were used. The two also voted to delay certification of last year’s election, prompting Mayes to sue the supervisors.

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Attorney General Kris Mayes Reverses Brnovich’s Opinion on Allowing Hand Count Audits of Elections

Rachel Alexander

Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes, who is embroiled in an election lawsuit from Republican Abe Hamadeh contesting his loss to her by 280 votes, reversed an opinion on May 18 from previous Attorney General Mark Brnovich stating that counties have statutory authority to conduct hand counts of ballots. The difference in opinions came down to whether counties could conduct hand counts of all the ballots in five contested races, or merely a small percentage of ballots in those five races.

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Cochise County Attorney Who Threatened and Opposed County Supervisors on Hand Counting Ballots and Certifying Election Arrested for ‘Super Extreme’ DUI

Rachel Alexander

Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre was arrested early in the morning on January 28 for a “super extreme” DUI. McIntyre, who became nationally known for feuding with the Cochise County Supervisors over their efforts to conduct a hand count of ballots during the 2022 midterm election and reject their vote certifying the results, blew a .21 BAC, more than twice the legal limit. 

Fernando “Jack” Dona, Master Sergeant, US Army (Retired), a retired U.S. Army Intelligence Electronic Warfare Aviation Field Systems Engineer and former Staff Sergeant Major of the Training Development and Support Directorate at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center at Fort Huachuca, called for McIntyre to resign. “Sir, if you had any honor and integrity you would have already immediately resigned your position as County Attorney, and thrown yourself at the mercy of the court. The above video of your arrest for EXTREME DUI is an absolute disgrace and embarrassment to Cochise County, Arizona. 

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Arizona Corporation Commissioner Warns Officials That Using Electronic Voting Machine Tabulators Violates the Law; Cochise County Agrees to Hand Count Ballots

Rachel Alexander

Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jim O’Connor and a group of concerned Arizonans have made some progress in their efforts to convince Arizona’s counties to refrain from using electronic voting machine tabulators in the Nov. 8 election. The Cochise County Supervisors (CCBOS) voted two to one during a meeting on Monday to conduct a hand count in addition to using the machines, although due to a threat from Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’ State Elections Director Kori Lorick, it may only be a partial hand count.

“It’s about the people. It’s about our right to vote and have our votes counted and feel confident in the election process,” Republican board member Peggy Judd said, explaining why the hand count is needed. She said immediately before the vote, “I’d like to take this chance. My heart and my work has been in it and I don’t want to back down. I might go to jail.”

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Grassroots Groups Pressure Arizona Officials to Follow 110 U.S. Counties and Not Use Voting Machines

Rachel Alexander

Voters concerned about election fraud are increasing the pressure on public officials to take additional steps during elections this year to provide additional security, including counting ballots by hand instead of using electronic voting machines for tabulation. Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jim O’Connor sent all Arizona county election officials and sheriffs a letter on August 30 urging the change, and now grassroots organizations are following up with their own campaign.

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State Rep. Fillmore Introduces Sweeping Election Integrity Bill That Would Substantially Change How Elections Are Done in Arizona

Rachel Alexander

Arizona legislators are busy dropping bills to address election fraud this session, due to concerns there was massive fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Rep. John Fillmore (R-Apache Junction) is sponsoring one of the most sweeping bills, HB 2596, which makes substantial changes to elections including giving the Arizona Legislature the final say on approving elections, eliminating most voting by mail, and requiring hand counting of ballots.

Fillmore explained the need for the significant reform during a committee hearing. “I don’t care what the press says,” he said. “I don’t trust ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox or anybody out there. Everybody’s lying to me and I feel like I have a couple hundred ex-wives hanging around me. This is not a President Biden thing. This is not a the other red-headed guy thing. We should have voting in my opinion in person, one day, on paper, with no electronic means and hand counting that day. We need to get back to 1958-style voting.”

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