Arizona Representative Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), who has earned a reputation for having an issue with honesty, appears to have solidified that reputation especially when it comes to fundraising emails to constituents.
In a fundraising email sent to constituents on December 27, Gallego laid the blame for a reduction of the number of polling places squarely at the feet of Republicans which is disingenuous at best and closer to blatantly false. In that email, Gallego or more likely a staffer, wrote: “Republicans rushed to shut down over 300 polling places.”
What was conveniently left out of the email was that significantly over half of those polling places (171) were in Maricopa County whose Recorder is no less than Adrian Fontes, a Democrat.
“While the raw number of polling locations may be lower, the actual opportunities voters have to go vote in person are way bigger,” said Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes.
Not one for truth to get in the way of a good sympathy ploy to raise funds for his pending reelection bid, Gallego allowed the fundraising email to proceed unchallenged.
Furthermore, Gallego did not address the core issue of the closure of voting locations which consisted of a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision which found a portion of the 1965 Voting Rights Act unconstitutional.
See: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-96_6k47.pdf
Arizona was swept up under the umbrella of the Voting Rights act in 1972 as a result of Congress amending the act to cover the practice of English-only voting materials.
By migrating to voting centers as Arizona is on track to do, the use of multi-lingual machines coupled with easier voter access may eventually preclude the necessity of the Voting Rights Act in its entirety.
His email went on to say, “This is our once-in-a-lifetime chance to finally turn Arizona for Democrats.”
Arizona has had both Democrat and Republican legislators and governors over the course of its statehood.
[metaslider id=65385]