During this last election, Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan and her staff demonstrated clearly that there is a new sheriff in town – so to speak – when she and her staff assisted the public in securing fair and verifiable elections. From supporting a hand count audit of Pima County’s ballots, to sending observers to watch the tabulation on Election Day, the SOS gave the public hope that the residents would be heard and their votes counted.
To many, the results of the election clearly show that their hope was not unfounded. Pima County’s bond proposal went down in flames and took with it the notion that the establishment would dare tamper with the election results while being watched 24/7 by a vigilant public and representatives from both parties.
Despite the results, on November 20, Arizona’s Secretary of State and her staff attended the Pima County Elections Integrity meeting and heard unsubstantiated allegations of corruption including the implication that a breach of protocol was a breach of security.
That breach of protocol occurred when a Pima County employee broke the seal that had been placed on the ballot counting machines after the first logic and accuracy test was conducted. By law, witnesses must be present when the logic and accuracy test is conducted. The test must be conducted prior to counting the votes in elections.
At 3:03 p.m. on the Tuesday following the first accuracy test, an Election Department staffer broke the seal in order to obtain information he should have retrieved prior to – or at the time – of the first accuracy test.
The breach in protocol was caught by John Brakey of Audit AZ.
The system worked. Brakey alerted the press, the public, and County staff. Another accuracy test was conducted. Pima County was put on notice that:
1. the public was watching,
2. the public would be intolerant of any breaches
3. the public would expect an immediate remedy should any other red flags be raised and failing found.
There is no doubt that County staff, namely Brad Nelson, has treated the concerns of the public with contempt. There is no doubt that in the past, as with the RTA election, the County has cheated the pubic of fair and verifiable elections. There is no doubt that the arrogant County Administrator, Chuck Huckelberry, plays fast and loose with rules and uses the resources (taxes) provided by the public against them. There is no doubt that the current majority of the Board of Supervisors: Ray Carroll, Ramon Valdez, Richard Elias, and Chair Sharon Bronson have overseen crooked elections and supported Huckelberry’s schemes every step of the way.
Those facts should be enough to clean house. One does not have to invent new abuses to justify their removal from their positions of power. That being said, Nelson seems to only reflect the attitude of Huckelberry and his minions on the Board of Supervisors. In light of the fact that his biggest critics desperately need to be critical of every minute detail of the elections, some of his attitude might be reflexive and expected of anyone.
There were plenty of problems with this election that will be ignored if the residents allow themselves to be swept up by those who want to turn a breach of protocol into a breach of security.
As evidenced by the ballots in the Oro Valley Recall Election, Arizona’s campaign laws need an overhaul. Timelines need to be clear and codified, and the rights and responsibilities of the public, and candidates need to be spelled out and easily understood by anyone.
For Nelson’s failure to notify Oro Valley residents that one candidate had dropped out of the race as he promised, he should face consequences. If there are no consequences for failing to do your job, there is nothing to ensure that it will be done. The honor system doesn’t work in Pima County because there is little honor to go around.
Speaking of honor, it was in short supply at the November 20 meeting. Allegations were made by a political opportunist that were reckless and self-serving. While no one could question some people’s dedication to verifiable elections, they must keep in mind that some of them also want the public to believe that 9-11 and the assassination of President Kennedy were inside jobs.
So true believers and political monsters driving the discourse. The result is more apathetic voters and a suppressed turnout.
It will take both Democrats and Republicans to unseat what ails Pima County and fosters the distrust everyone feels. We learned a valuable lesson this last election; only together can we crush the powers that are crushing us. If voters go down the rabbit hole with the true believers and political monsters they might not get back in time for the 2016 election, and that just might be what they want in the end.