It’s always a good day when an elected official holds to his campaign promises. And as the newly elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Horne has done just that. During his campaign, Tom said he would make it a priority to stop indoctrination like Critical Race Theory while fighting back against cancel culture and improving student performance. Last week, he took important steps to make this a reality.
Under Tom’s direction, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) has eliminated social-emotional learning (SEL) from its administration. Among his first moves, Tom has not only removed references to SEL, but he has gotten rid of other leftist initiatives from former Superintendent Kathy Hoffman like the division of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion along with sex chat rooms for minors like “Queer Chat.”
But while Tom is working hard to end the woke indoctrination of our students, he’s not stopping there…
One lawmaker has a solution to the ballot drop box watcher controversy in Maricopa County, but the recorder says they won’t be modifying their operations.
State Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-Scottsdale) proposed removing the two controversial drop boxes situated outdoors, leaving voters with the drop boxes located indoors. However, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer told AZ Free News that removing the two controversial drop boxes would be surrendering to cancel culture, not assuaging voter tensions. Richer explained that outdoor drop boxes enabled a 24/7 option for returning early ballots, whereas drop locations inside government buildings are limited to business hours.
“I don’t believe in surrendering to cancel culture. I don’t believe that we should cave to intentionally disruptive behavior (as some of the watchers appear to be; others not). I don’t think ASU should cancel speaker events because some people protest,” said Richer. “I don’t think the county should change the voting plan that has been in place for many months now — and that worked successfully for the August primary — because of these people.”
I tried to ban drop boxes last session. At a minimum, the county should remove the 2 outside drop box locations before someone gets hurt. Problem solved.
Ugenti-Rita proposed her solution on Sunday. By Monday, the Democratic Party’s top election lawyer renowned for his role in the Russiagate hoax, Marc Elias, had jumped into the Arizona elections ring again — ensuring that Arizona’s elections are once more the center of national attention.
Outdoor drop boxes have been the source of numerous complaints of voter intimidation and voter fraud this election season. Secretary of State Katie Hobbs announced in a press release on Monday that her office referred six complaints of voter intimidation to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Arizona police were called to investigate 2 individuals parked near a ballot drop box Friday night, dressed in tactical gear & armed with guns. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said they were not breaking any laws because they were more than 75 feet away from the ballot box.
Those seeking to report voter intimidation may call 1-877-THE-VOTE or access Arizona.Vote. Those seeking to report voter fraud may submit their complaint to the attorney general here.
Elias sued to stop Arizona’s ballot drop box watchers on behalf of the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans and Voto Latino against Clean Elections USA. The nonprofits allege that the drop box surveillance amounts to voter intimidation prohibited by the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871.
. @marceelias sounds an encouraging note on the speed with which the court is responding to the lawsuit against Arizona ballot box vigilantes. pic.twitter.com/ketOafu29B
Elias and the two leftist nonprofits have been busy resisting Republican-led changes to election law. In August, the pair sued to stop SB1260, a bill enacted in June to clean up the state’s voter rolls. The Arizona District Court issued a temporary injunction against provisions of the bill enforcing voter registration cancellation for those who register to vote in another county and issuance of felony charges against those who facilitate voter fraud, but didn’t block removals from the Active Early Voting List (AEVL). Elias’ team appealed.
In March, Elias’ law group sued on behalf of Voto Latino as well as Mi Familia Vota against HB2492, a bill signed into law earlier this year requiring proof of citizenship in order to vote (though it won’t go into effect until 2023). The Arizona District Court is hearing that case; at present, the court is considering the state’s motion to dismiss.
In that case, Elias and the nonprofits have the Biden administration’s support: in July, the DOJ sued the state over the new law. DOJ Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke claimed that Arizona’s required proof of citizenship to vote was “onerous” and “unnecessary.”
Prior to this year, Elias only represented Voto Latino in one other case: a 2020 lawsuit against Hobbs to extend the state’s mail-in ballot deadline. Although Elias’ team was unsuccessful in extending the mail-in ballot deadline, they did get Hobbs to expand Hispanic voter outreach efforts and increase funding for early voting across different counties.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
By cancel culture, I mean the idea that people have rights and responsibilities and obligations and entitlements based on their skin color or their ethnic origin. A person’s identity is defined by the group they belong to. There are no individual rights. There are only group rights.
The cancel culture rejects the political view encapsulated in the Declaration of Independence. In particular, it rejects the idea that people have a right to pursue their own happiness. It also rejects the idea of basic rights guaranteed in the Constitution, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of assembly.
Offensive speech can be seen as a “micro aggression”—and thus a form of force. There are no limits to what constitutes such aggression. For example, if you say you voted for Donald Trump, or you like capitalism, or you think free markets have lifted people out of poverty all over the world, you might be accused of offensive speech.
