“Data Guru” Gets Schooled By Real Election Guru

Arizona’s self-proclaimed election “data guru” says a newly proposed election integrity bill isn’t necessary — but not all elections experts agree.

ABC 15’s outspoken elections reporter, Garrett Archer, criticized Congressman Abe Hamadeh’s proposed reforms to the Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) as unnecessary.

Archer referenced the percentage share of UOCAVA registrations throughout the state as proof any UOCAVA reforms wouldn’t impact election outcomes. All counties had registration shares under one percent.

Legislation introduced by Hamadeh last week, Proving Residency for Overseas Voter Eligibility (PROVE) Act, proposes amendments to UOCAVA requiring non-military overseas citizens to prove their state residency prior to voting. Under UOCAVA currently, individuals may vote in federal elections based on their last state residence. Hamadeh referred to this allowance as a “loophole” that poses a threat to election integrity.

Hamadeh responded to critics of his bill with support issued by another election specialist, Hans von Spakovsky, who said the PROVE Act was a positive measure. Von Spakovsky, an attorney, works with the Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies and formerly served within the Federal Election Commission.

“The typical civilian Congress was looking at [when UOCAVA was created] was, for example, a State Department foreign service officer in Europe for a several-year assignment who would return to his or her home in Maryland or Virginia or another state when that assignment ended,” Spakovsky told The Federalist.

70 percent of UOCAVA voters last year were overseas citizens, which was remarked to be a much larger voting population than uniformed services voters by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) in their 2024 report published in June.

In last year’s general election, there were over 1.3 million ballots transmitted to UOCAVA voters. Over two-thirds of those ballots were returned: over 96 percent were accepted and less than four percent were rejected.

Hamadeh also questioned why the ABC News election specialist wasn’t accounting for the military numbers.

“This bill ensures that military voters are protected and loopholes are closed,” said Hamadeh.

According to a press release from Hamadeh’s office announcing the proposed PROVE Act, 39 states permit individuals who have never resided in the United States to cast ballots in state elections, including Arizona.

“The loophole in UOCAVA allows citizens living overseas, with no current ties to a state, to arbitrarily choose where their vote counts. This threatens electoral integrity and is an affront to everyone who believes in fair and free elections,” stated Hamadeh. “The PROVE Act will close this loophole and go far to restore trust in our elections.”

In Arizona, over 22,400 UOCAVA ballots were transmitted and over 18,600 were returned. Of those, about 18,000 were counted and just over 500 were rejected.

Over 28,000 Federal Write-In Absentee Ballots (FWABs) were submitted as backup ballots for UOCAVA voters unable to obtain or return their regular UOCAVA ballot in time. In Arizona, over 1,000 FWABs were received, with just under 400 counted and over 600 rejected because a valid ballot was accepted and counted.