Response to the negotiations related to fixing ECRA issues caused by Republicans’ recount law:

By Casey Clowes

“Many states are in the process of adjusting their election administration timeline to meet deadlines set by the Electoral Count Reform Act, but Arizona has a unique dilemma because the state legislature set us up for failure from the start.”

“This is a problem of their own making, when they enacted Michelle Ugenti-Rita’s legislation that drastically lowered the threshold for automatic recounts and any attempt to find a solution at the expense of Arizona voters is unacceptable. They created this problem by increasing the recount threshold five-fold and that is where they should find the solution – not on the backs’ of Arizona voters. It is unacceptable for politicians to use the Electoral Count Reform Act as an excuse to hurt voters when they caused this mess.”

“Any suggestion to shorten the cure period is one to place politicians’ interests over voters and our democracy. Decreasing the number of days voters have to complete our guaranteed process of fixing a minor issue with their ballots risks having Arizonans’ votes thrown out. This would have a disparate impact on low-income, rural, tribal, and disabled voters who have to travel farther, or may have to use public transportation, to cure their ballots.”

“Shortening Arizona’s cure period should be a non-starter for any pro-voter, pro-democracy legislator. We must put voters ahead of power grabs by election deniers.”

– Casey Clowes, Voting Rights Director, Progress Arizona