Arizona Election Officials Report 2,000 Vote Discrepancy in Recent Primary, Predict Delays in November

People in Line to Vote

Maricopa County executive director Zach Schira claimed on Tuesday that recent changes to the state’s elections as a result of a “landmark” election integrity bill that enjoyed overwhelming support in the Arizona Legislature.

Schira told The Arizona Republic that complying with a provision in HB 2785 which requires election workers to count the number of early ballots at each polling location required an average of 30 to 45 minutes at polling locations across the state for the March 19 presidential preference election.

Read More

Arizona Legislature and Runbeck Election Services Reach Election Integrity Agreement, Including 2022 Election Footage

Runbeck Ballot Production

A memorandum of understanding (MAU) between the Arizona Legislature and Runbeck Election Services on Monday, with Representative Alex Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) and Senator Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff) declaring it will significantly strengthen election integrity.

The legislature and Runbeck, which processes the mail-in ballots for Maricopa County, reached four key areas of agreement that include the release of some 2022 election video, and the lawmakers explained in a press release that the MAU marks “the culmination of an extensive examination of the company’s election processes.”

Read More

Arizona House Passes ‘Landmark’ Election Integrity Bill with Overwhelming Support to Create Signature Verification Standards, Promote Voter ID

The Arizona State House voted on Thursday overwhelmingly in favor of a “landmark” election integrity bill that would set the state’s official standards for signature verification and promote the use of voter ID in early voting, among other improvements to the state’s voting system.

Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale), who sponsored the legislation, celebrated the passage of HB 2785 on Thursday in a press release that declared the law will bring “landmark election integrity reforms.”

Read More

Arizona State Representative Kolodin, Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller File Bar Complaint Against Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre

Arizona State Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) and Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller filed an election-related bar complaint on Monday against Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre, alleging that he violated attorney client privilege when informing opposing attorneys of the county’s intention to hand-count some of its 2022 election ballots.

Read More

Arizona Lawmakers Condemn Rep. Tlaib’s ‘Extremist, Antisemitic Views’ After ASU Pro-Palestine Protest Sparks Police Response

A bipartisan group of legislators in the Arizona State House issued a statement on Thursday condemning Representative Rashida Tlaib for her “extremist, antisemitic views” after a Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) protest at Arizona State University (ASU) shut down a student government meeting and required police to escort Jewish students way from the building on Wednesday. The university’s SJP chapter plans for Tlaib to headline an event its hosting on Friday.

Representatives Michael Carbone (R-Buckeye), Alma Hernandez (D-Tucson), Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale), and Consuelo Hernandez (D-Cochise) declared Tlaib’s views “are not welcome in Arizona,” stating that “Arizona is a safe place for Jews, both on and off campus, and the antisemitic rants regurgitated by SJP and others are not representative of Arizona values.”

Read More

State Representative Kolodin Promises House Review After AG Mayes Joins Coalition for Government Censorship

State Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) promised the Arizona House would examine Attorney General Kris Mayes’ decision to join a coalition of attorneys general seeking to restore the government’s ability to communicate censorship requests to social media websites.

“Labeling speech dangerous and calling for it to be suppressed is the first act of tyrants,” Kolodin wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in response to Mayes’ decision to join the coalition. He added that the Arizona House “will be taking a very close look” at the move.

Read More

State Representatives Seek Answers from Arizona Secretary of State over Elections Manual Concerns

Arizona State Reps. Jacqueline Parker (R-Mesa) and Alexander Kolodin (R-Maricopa) sent an inquiry to new Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D), asking if he seeks to remedy errors in the state’s Elections Procedures Manual (EPM).

“Recent Arizona court decisions give us serious concerns about the lawfulness of former Secretary Hobbs’ 2019 EPM and 2021 draft EPM. Arizona law purports to authorize the EPM to achieve and maintain the maximum degree of correctness, impartiality, uniformity and efficiency in voting procedures throughout the state. But we question whether these mandates have been followed. We hope Secretary Fontes more fully evaluates where the prior Secretary overstepped her bounds and look forward to hearing how those errors will be corrected,” Reps. Parker and Kolodin said in a joint statement.

Read More