Gov. Hobbs’ Task Force Admits 2022 Election Under Her Rule Disenfranchised Voters

Gov. Hobbs’ Task Force Admits 2022 Election Under Her Rule Disenfranchised Voters

By Corinne Murdock |

Gov. Katie Hobbs’ Election Task Force (ETF) admitted that the 2022 election under her administration as secretary of state disenfranchised certain voters.

In the ETF’s final report, issued last week, the group recommended 16 improvements, two of which concerned hotly contested issues on eligible voters’ registration status: provisional ballot forms and cross-county voter registration. The 14 other issues spanned election administration, voter registration, early voting, election day and after procedures, and election equipment and security. 

These provisional ballot and cross-county voter registration standards and procedures caused some voters to be disenfranchised last year. 

Concerning provisional ballot forms, the ETF noted that no law exists to direct counties to have provisional ballots double as voter registration forms for eligible voters who weren’t registered prior to casting their vote. However, it is standard practice adopted by many counties, as noted by the ETF. The ETF also said that inconsistencies in provisional ballot forms across counties resulted in disparate treatment of voters. 

“[T]here is no statutory requirement for counties to adopt this practice, which can result in inconsistent treatment of similarly-situated voters in different counties, and a potential decrease in the practice with turnover in County Recorder and elections offices,” said the ETF.

Maricopa County, which houses the state’s largest voting population, doesn’t have its provisional ballots double as voter registration forms. That meant that unregistered, eligible voters who voted in the primary through a provisional ballot remained unregistered, and therefore cast provisional ballots in the general election that were ultimately rejected. The county offered the following explanation to AZ Free News:

“Maricopa County does not use provisional ballots as registration forms. We do have voter registration forms available at vote centers. An individual must be registered to vote at least 29 before an election to be eligible to vote in that election. So, if someone registers to vote via a registration form at a vote center and then votes a provisional ballot, that provisional ballot will not be valid as they still are not within that 29-day time frame.”

Yet Pima County, which handles the state’s second-largest voting population, does use provisional ballot forms as voter registration.

Concerning cross-county voter registration, the ETF recommended changing state law to allow voters who moved counties to change their address up to and on Election Day, which voters may already do if they change addresses within the same county. Current law requires voters who move to another county to update their address at least 29 days prior to Election Day. The ETF noted that some voters were unaware of address changes to their voter registration

“Some voters are not aware of having made changes to their voter registration through the MVD, or may forget having made a separate request,” stated the ETF.

As alluded to by the ETF, hundreds of voters came forward after the 2022 election to allege that very disenfranchisement happened to them. In his arguments for a new trial in May, failed attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh’s legal team introduced sworn affidavits of hundreds of voters claiming disenfranchisement due to bureaucratic failures. 

One allegedly disenfranchised Maricopa County voter given as an example, Marlena, attempted to vote on Election Day but was denied. Marlena had reportedly experienced issues with the county’s registration system for months: earlier that year, she discovered that her registration had changed without her knowledge and consent. Evidence indicated that Marlena attempted to correct her voter registration before the deadline and subsequently received confirmation from Maricopa County confirming her registration. Yet, she was denied her vote on Election Day.

During a Maricopa County Board of Supervisors meeting in September, county officials noted that individuals have mistakenly checked the wrong box and unknowingly changed their voter registration, when re-registering a vehicle in another county.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Abe Hamadeh Claims 8K Votes Not Counted In Attorney General Race

Abe Hamadeh Claims 8K Votes Not Counted In Attorney General Race

By Corinne Murdock |

Attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh claims that over 8,000 votes weren’t counted in the 2022 election. The 8,000 votes in question were cast as provisional ballots.

“Arizona, I’m still fighting for you and the integrity of our elections,” said Hamadeh.

Hamadeh also directed Arizona voters to his advocacy website to review the “lost” votes from the 2022 election. One of the disenfranchised voters featured on the site was a veteran, Howard, whose vote was denied to him after government workers erroneously reported him as having moved counties. Despite Howard offering election officials proof of residence on Election Day, he was denied the right to vote. 

In part due to mass day-of voting machine failures, provisional ballots increased in this past election. Hamadeh has also claimed that a significant number of lawfully registered voters were denied their right to vote.

READ: MARICOPA COUNTY RECORDER FUNDRAISED OFF VOTING MACHINE FAILURES

With that increase of provisional ballots, rejection rates also increased in several counties. 

Santa Cruz County’s rejections increased from one out of the 117 provisional ballots cast to 83 out of the 139 provisional ballots cast. 

Pima County’s rejection rate doubled.

Pinal County’s rejection rate increased from 59 to 63 percent. That was despite having a comparable number of provisional ballots cast in 2020 and 2022.

Yavapai County more than doubled its rejection of provisional ballots based on non-registration this past election in comparison to 2020. That was despite voter turnout declining significantly.

The vote gap between Hamadeh and the current attorney general, Kris Mayes, sits at 280 votes. Hamadeh received a hearing in the Mohave County Superior Court next month, on May 16. 

Hamadeh announced his appeal of the election results in January, following discovery of hundreds of votes in the recount.

As AZ Free News reported last week, a review of uncounted provisional ballots make a compelling case for Hamadeh. According to Hamadeh, over 250 voters have issued affidavits from allegedly disenfranchised voters. Hamadeh estimated that over 1,000 voters’ registration were wrongly canceled due to government missteps, a calculation separate from the 8,000 provisional ballots.

Hamadeh claimed his team found 750 high-propensity voters whose registrations were canceled. Of those 750, only 176 showed up to vote last November. 

There were also 269 voters who checked in on Election Day with mail-in ballots, but never had their vote counted. Hamadeh reported that many of those voters reported to his team that their votes weren’t counted. In those cases, check-ins reflect votes cast in the county’s system. The 269 voters were disproportionately Republican and independent: 149 were Republicans, 53 were Democrats, and 67 were “other.”

Hamadeh has consistently claimed that his legal team’s findings would reveal that the government withheld evidence concerning the 2022 election.

“My legal team will expose the government’s withholding of evidence that undermined the rule of law,” said Hamadeh. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.