(Kyle Becker, Headline USA) The Arizona state legislature brought forward draft legislation Tuesday of a bill that seeks to speed up the state’s notoriously slow election process.
The bill, dubbed “Make Arizona’s Results Faster,” was introdued by GOP state Sen. J.D. Mesnard for consideration in the next legislative session.
As written, it would make a number of minor improvements to election integrity and accelerate the ballot-counting process at the margins. However, it would not undertake drastic changes, such as going to all-paper ballots to be submitted by voters on Election Day.
BREAKING.🚨
Arizona lawmakers have just introduced a bill to "Make Arizona's Results Faster."
The AZ legislation would perform signature verification on early ballots to prevent lengthy days on Election Day.
Here are five key points from the draft legislation:
• Early Ballot… pic.twitter.com/24YZpUdAc5
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) November 27, 2024
One of the reasons cited for Arizona’s arduous and unwieldy tabulation process is voters’ heavy reliance on absentee and mail-in ballots.
The bill seeks to reform the early voting process and assuage other concerns about election integrity in five key ways:
- Early Ballot Requests and Identification: Electors can request early ballots within 93 days before an election. Early voting sites require voters to present identification before receiving a ballot.
- Handling and Submission of Early Ballots: ONLY the voter may possess their early ballot. Early ballots must received no later than specific deadlines. Counties must establish secure drop boxes for verified and unverified ballots.
- Signature Verification and Curing Process: Election officials must verify signatures against voter registration records. The “curing” period for inconsistent or missing signatures extends up to five business days after a federal election.
- Civil Penalties for Violations: Organizations must submit completed early ballot request forms to the appropriate election office. Knowingly withholding forms or mishandling ballots may result in fines or felony charges.
- On-Site Tabulation and Updated Election Processes: On-site tabulation of early ballots must follow strict chain-of-custody and identification verification requirements. Election officials must maintain publically accessible logs.
Despite keeping intact an extended post-election ballot-curing period, which might continue to delay the official reporting of results on election night, the bill garnered praise for trying to address a problem that has fueled widespread allegations of election meddling in Maricopa County and elsewhere over the past three election cycles.
Garrett Archer, a self-described “data guru” at Phoenix’s ABC 15, quipped that the bill might even be renamed “Make Arizona Elections Like Florida.”
Yes, you can also call this "Make Arizona Elections Like Florida"
— The AZ – abc15 – Data Guru (@Garrett_Archer) November 27, 2024
Three days after Election Day, Maricopa County still had half-a-million ballots to count, according to Phoenix’s Fox 10.
On the other hand, Florida counted nearly all of its approximately 10 million votes on Election Day, according to the Associated Press.
The Sunshine State was ground zero for the disastrous 2000 election, under then-Gov. Jeb Bush, that eventually sent his brother, George W. Bush, to the White House. But under current Gov. Ron DeSantis, it appears to have learned a valuable lesson from its hanging-chad fiasco.
“Florida’s election system is geared toward quick and efficient tabulation,” said the AP.
“… Florida’s deadlines are set to avoid having ballots arrive any later than when officials press ‘go’ on the tabulator machines,” it added. “The state has a receipt deadline for its absentee ballots, which means ballots that do not arrive by 7 p.m. local time on Election Day are not counted, regardless of when they were mailed.”
Kyle Becker is a former writer and associate producer for Fox News’s Hannity. He was also the director of viral media at IJReview. Follow him at x.com/kylenabecker or visit thekylebecker.com.
