By Corinne Murdock |
On Monday, GOP leaders for both legislative chambers’ elections committees announced additional election transparency measures in an agreement with the Phoenix-based ballot production and distribution company, Runbeck Election Services (RES).
State Rep. Alexander Kolodin (R-LD03), vice chair of the House Elections Committee, and State Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-LD07), chair of the Senate Elections Committee, shared in a press release that RES entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) guaranteeing an observation program, software audits, an election workflow report from RES, and access to 2022 election data.
Kolodin further revealed in the press release that RES also agreed to cage the ballot sorters, contingent on legislative appropriation. The MOU dates back to last Wednesday.
“This agreement represents a significant advancement in our ongoing efforts to ensure the security and integrity of Arizona’s elections,” said Kolodin. “I appreciate the cooperation of Runbeck’s new ownership and their willingness to provide greater transparency — the foundation of public trust and confidence.”
By “new ownership,” Kolodin was likely referring to the company whose president and CEO is Mihai Toma, brother to House Speaker and congressional candidate Ben Toma (R-LD08). Last August, RES sold a majority stake in the company to Lincoln Shields, a subsidiary of Black Mountain Investment Company (BMIC), whose president and CEO is Mihai Toma.
RES said in a statement that the speaker has no stake in RES and was unaware of the purchase until shortly prior to its occurrence. The speaker pledged to divest his financial interest in BMIC, reported to be over $100,000, around the time of the sale.
The RES CEO is Jeff Ellington, appointed to the position in 2021 after serving for about a decade in various executive capacities. Under Ellington, RES reported significant growth in its ballot mailing operations: from 3.5 million in 2016 to 16 million in 2020. According to the company, at least 45 percent of registered voters in the nation “touch[ed]” one of their products in 2020.
Under the MOU, RES agreed to allow up to three observers each from the state’s Republican and Democratic parties onsite during the primary and general election days to watch in-bound mail packet sorting activity via the loading dock and the camera feeds viewing the loading dock, sorting areas, and ballot storage room entrances; a House-led audit of signature verification and ballot duplication software licensed to Maricopa County, which will be completed this year and made public; a RES report published prior to the upcoming August primary outlining its scope of work and election workflow with Maricopa County and other state election agencies, complete with chain of custody documents, as well as RES documents completed and returned to Maricopa County; and onsite access to up to two legislative observers to view RES’ general election night loading dock video footage from 2022.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
