The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 23, 2023
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
NPR – An Arizona official has a plan to speed up election results. Not everyone is on board
KJZZ – Maricopa County recorder proposes 12 election reform laws
Maricopa County Recorder’s Office – Arizona Election Law Reform proposals
KJZZ – Faster results or longer early voting? Maricopa County recorder wants Arizona to have a conversation
12News Phoenix – Ballot box watchers in Arizona face lawsuits by voting-rights advocates
Groups Taking Action:
All Voting is Local – Arizona, League of Women Voters AZ, Arizona Clean Elections Commission, Arizona Alliance of Retired Americans, Native American Rights Fund
Today’s Script: (Variations occur with audio due to editing for time)
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
We’re back in Maricopa County, Arizona, where officials are still sorting out the ballot printing fiasco from November, and the county recorder is proposing state rule changes to end late arriving mail-in ballots.
Arizona has a widely used vote-by-mail option, in addition to in-person voting on election day. Postal delays of 2020 ballots, as well as recent extremist intimidation at drop box locations, resulted in a record 290,000 voters dropping off mail-in ballots at the polls on election day.
That late influx of ballots requires time to open, verify, and tabulate. States with a high-percentage of mail-in ballots like Arizona typically don’t have election results for a week or more, but a chorus of mostly Conservative candidates and lawmakers want results on election night.
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer proposes several changes to facilitate election night results. Instead of 5 pm election night, he would move the deadline for hand-delivered mail-in ballots to the Friday before election day, and allow counting them early. Arizona also has “emergency” in-person voting prior to election day, and Richer recommends expanding those days, and allowing those votes to be tabulated onsite.
Richer hopes his recommendations will result in proposed legislation. Democracy advocates argue that voters should be allowed to do what is convenient to them, not the county.
We have a link to the proposal and groups taking action, at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.