Serving the people of Arizona

Arizona is in the middle of an election audit, that may very well uncover serious issues that need to be fixed by passing legislation this year. When I heard that the Senate was hoping to close session Sine Die in 2 weeks and go home to fundraise, I knew I had to take action to prevent that. I told my colleagues that we had no business going home yet when we had serious elections issues yet unresolved. Because I received zero feedback or affirmation that we would remain in session so that we could address election issues discovered by the audit, I then had to dig in my heels and declare that I would vote no on further election bill until we addressed the unresolved issues. They did not take me seriously and put the bill up on the board to test my resolve.

You see, SB1485 is an important bill that is necessary for cleaning the voter rolls, however it will not have an effect for several years! We need to address serious issues like the ballot chain of custody and the adjudicated ballot rate that was so high in Maricopa County in the 2020 election. Adjudicated ballots are those that are spit out by the machine due to a problem with the ballot, like bleed through from a felt tip pen. It then goes to a team to determine how you actually wanted to vote, and they then fill out a new ballot for you and cast the adjudicated version instead. All other counties in Arizona had a 2% adjudication rate or less, however Maricopa had an astounding 11.27% rate. This draws serious questions as to what went wrong, and I believe the audit will uncover that.

We cannot wait until 2026 for election reform, we need it now. Any bill that will impact the 2022 election must be passed this year in order to be in effect in time for next year's primary. This is why I took such a hard stance on waiting to go home and fundraise. Our work is anything but done. I will reconsider SB1485 and vote yes if it is brought back for a re-vote, only AFTER we have addressed the issues that need to be fixed. Arizonans deserve to know their votes counted.

If you are interested in hearing my comments from the Senate floor regarding SB1485, please go to the YouTube link and check it out.

https://youtu.be/0w5-oJfGCAc

You have my commitment to reconsider SB1485, but you have my deeper commitment to ensure Arizona's elections are fair and not laden with corruption. As a veteran who will not waiver on my oath, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for understanding. I am glad you reached out and asked for my explanation, and I hope it is to your satisfaction.

For God and Country,
Senator Kelly J. Townsend