Experts To Explain Importance Of Letting Public See Digital Ballot Images

pima county vote tabulator

When Katie Hobbs unexpectedly vetoed a bill to make digital images of ballots accessible to the public, she reignited a bipartisan grassroots effort to explain the important role ballot images play in ensuring elections can be “transparent, trackable, and publicly verified,” in the words of Sen. Ken Bennett.

As a result, Bennett (R-LD1) and several election security and election integrity advocates are taking part in a webinar Thursday night being hosted by the nonpartisan Tucson-based AUDIT Elections USA.

Hobbs stated in her May 19 veto letter that despite being “well-intentioned,” she believed House Bill 2560 threatened voter “anonymity and privacy” even though the digital image of a ballot, like the ballot itself, contains nothing which identifies the voter who cast that ballot.

It is the digital image, and not the ballot itself, which is tabulated when electronic or machine tabulation is utilized.

HB2560 was sponsored by House Speaker Ben Toma based on language of a companion bill introduced by Bennett, a former Arizona Secretary of State. Toma and Bennett are Republicans, but the veto caught supporters of the bill on both sides of the political aisle scratching their heads.

Earlier this week, the executive committee of the Pima County Democratic Party (PCDP) passed a resolution supporting “greater transparency in elections” by making public the ballot images.

All of which compliments Thursday’s webinar titled “Enhancing Trust in the Electoral Process: Unveiling the Power of Ballot Imagery, CVR, and Cross-Party Cooperation.”

AUDIT Elections USA co-founder John Brakey says the webinar will be a thought-provoking discussion on the vital topic of election integrity, including a look at the various steps taken over the last 100 years to ensure ballot security.

Brakey added that a key to understanding why ballot images are so important to establishing public trust in elections is to remember that in Arizona secrecy exists in the voting process itself and not in counting votes, which is a public process.

“As engaged citizens, it is our duty to actively participate in shaping the future of our democracy,” Brakey told Arizona Daily Independent. “By promoting election transparency, we can collectively foster trust in the democratic process and safeguard the integrity of our votes.”

Registration for the free webinar is available at here.

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