Some of the most highly anticipated election bills in Arizona will be discussed Monday by the Senate Election Committee, including several sponsored by Sen. Ken Bennett (R-Prescott) whose experience includes six years as Arizona Secretary of State, the top elections official in the state.
Bennett, who is vice-chair of the Senate Elections Committee, also spent eight years in the Legislature, including a term as Senate President prior to being elected Secretary of State. His campaign for the Senate last year included a promise to do all Bennett can to ensure that future elections are transparent, trackable, and publicly verifiable.
To that end, Bennett introduced Senate Bill 1324, one of the few elections bills which has garnered strong bi-partisan support this legislative session. The bill is co-sponsored by six Senate Republicans including President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope, as well as four Senate Democrats: Eva Burch, Brian Fernandez, Sally Ann Gonzales, and Christine Marsh.
Bennett also worked closely with House Speaker Ben Toma who is sponsoring House Bill 2560, a sister bill to SB1324. Toma has already marshalled HB2560 through the House Municipal Oversight & Elections Committee.
SB1324 requires all 15 of Arizona’s counties to publish several election-related records for public review. Those records include a list prior to each election of all registered voters (active and inactive) by name, address, and precinct.
And after each election, SB1324 would require the counties to make available a list of everyone who voted in that election, including name, address, and precinct.
In addition, SB1324 clarifies that each county’s Ballot Images (which are tabulated in place of the actual ballots) and Cast Vote Record are publicly reviewable records. The Cast Voter Record is a data spreadsheet of the votes marked on each Ballot Image.
Another election-related bill slated to be taken up by the Senate committee Monday is the Bennett-sponsored Senate Bill 1518 which would overhaul Arizona’s early ballot process by setting a deadline prior to Election Day for depositing a ballot in a ballot drop box or for receipt of an early ballot by the County Recorder.
SB1518 would also require an early ballot voter to present valid identification before depositing their ballot into a ballot box. This would mean a family member or household member could no longer drop off another voter’s ballot as current law permits.
But by presenting identification up front, the early ballots would be ready for tabulated sooner as they would not need to undergo further signature verification.
The Senate Elections Committee will also take up Senate Bill 1389, considered by many as an election law clean-up bill, as it makes nearly a dozen changes to various election procedures such as ballot custody, ballot instructions, and voter lists.
In addition, Senate Bill 1565 and Senate Bill 1595 are also on Monday’s agenda.
SB1565 with Sen. Frank Carroll (R-Sun City West) as primary sponsor seeks to make Arizona’s elections equipment harder to tamper with by banning the use of artificial intelligence in connection with any machines, devices, firmware, and software.
Meanwhile, Sen. J.D. Mesnard (R-Chandler) has sponsored SB1595 to make several changes to the way early ballots are processed, similar to SB1518. It includes a provision for curing a signature or identification issue within five days after an election.
Another high-interest bill being considered Monday is Senate Bill 1471, introduced by Sen. John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills) which requires a recounting by both machine tabulator and by hand of a sampling of the 2022 General Election ballots cast in any county with a population of 2 million people or more.
According to the grass roots organization, the Arizona People’s Lobbyist, the results of such a test proscribed by SB1471 should provide a better understanding of the advisability of hand counts, both in terms of accuracy and cost.