The Citizens Clean Elections Commission (CCEC) incorrectly warned voters that early voting would end on Thursday, Oct. 29, but it doesn’t end until Friday, Oct. 30.
CCEC texted voters the wrong deadline on Wednesday morning. Then, the commission waited nearly two hours before sending a follow-up text to correct their misinformation.
“Corrections to our earlier text. The last day for in-person early voting is Friday, 10/30,” read the CCEC text. “We apologize for any confusion.”
According to the Citizens Clean Election Act, CCEC has two main obligations, one of those being the provision of voter education: unbiased, nonpartisan, and accurate information about registration, candidates and issues on the ballot, ballot-casting options, and the important dates and deadlines so voters “don’t miss their opportunity to vote.”
CCEC’s required voter education duties include providing a voter guide to every household with a registered voter.
This is the second time in the final months leading up to the midterms that CCEC has disseminated incorrect information in a manner that may impact the outcome of one or more races.
Last week, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that CCEC had overstepped its bounds when it claimed to have the authority to overrule the secretary of state’s certification of several candidates.
CCEC sought to decertify two Green Party candidates who received public campaign funding: gubernatorial candidate Risa Lombardo and secretary of state candidate Duwayne Collier.
Lombardo and Collier each received letters from Tom Collins, the executive director of CCEC, in late August, months after being certified to receive the funding and with Election Day a little over two months away.
Collins threatened Lombardo and Collier with forced repayment of the public campaign funding they had received from CCEC, alleging they violated the Citizens Clean Elections Act by forging their qualifying $5 contributions.
The CCEC board directed Collins to investigate his claims further, allowing him as late as Thursday to turn in his findings. Collins has been the executive director of CCEC for more than a decade.
CCEC’s deadline to release findings, so close to Election Day, highlighted the two Green Party candidates’ concerns that the investigation into their campaigns was politically motivated.
Lombardo and Collier have stated that CCEC’s threats have effectively pressured them to suspend campaign spending and therefore stalled their campaigns. As Clean Elections candidates, they’re limited in the type of campaign contributions they may accept: political action committees, businesses, corporations, labor unions, and large donors are off limits.
Tim LaSota, counsel for the two candidates, said CCEC’s actions amounted to election interference.
“The Commission has engaged in extraordinary efforts to interfere with our democratic elections this cycle, and this is the first step to stopping them,” LaSota told the Arizona Daily Independent. “The Commission, and Mr. Collins will continue to be held accountable for their civil rights violations, and this Supreme Court rebuke to the Commission and Mr. Collins is a well deserved one.”
As stated by the Arizona Supreme Court in its recent ruling and press release, Arizona law doesn’t give CCEC authority to review and overturn the secretary of state’s certification. The court did permit CCEC to continue its investigation into the candidates, stating that it would wait to issue judgment on what, if any, disciplinary actions CCEC takes.
“The Court’s ruling is limited to the Commission’s authority over the certification process, not the outcome of the remaining issues in any investigation,” stated the court.
Collins confirmed with Arizona’s Law that CCEC is proceeding with its investigation.
Tuesday was the last day to mail back early ballots, but these ballots may be dropped off at a voting location or ballot drop box. Apart from the early in-person voting deadline on Friday, the polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. Unlike early mail ballot voting, in-person voting requires a valid ID.
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