Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer says that a number of progressive social issues aren’t major threats to America.
Richer dismissed the notion that transgender activism, woke corporations, and critical race theory were the most important challenges facing America. He also deprioritized the concerns over globalization, worker power, and financialization.
Rather, Richer declared that he believed government regulation, tax rates, free trade, and illegal immigration were the top challenges facing America.
Specifically: tax rates on corporations and job creators are too high, regulation is discouraging business growth and innovation, and tariffs on China are raising prices and interfering with free trade.
Of these 12, my top 3 of my top 4 issues are the 3 at the bottom in blue. (Immigration reform other)
This puts me firmly in what the study calls the "old right."
Very interesting report by @AmerCompass on "The New Conservative Voter."
— Stephen Richer—MaricopaCountyRecorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) October 1, 2023
The county recorder elicited his self-characterization in response to an American Compass report on a survey of Republicans describing “The New Conservative Voter.” By the report’s standards, Richer declared himself to be the “old right.”
“Naive of me to think politics was about competing ideas for a governing philosophy,” stated Richer.
A majority of survey respondents believed, in order, that transgender activism, woke corporations, illegal immigration, critical race theory, and globalization were the top five most important challenges facing America.
Those survey responders most concerned with the threat of progressive cultural issues were characterized as “cultural” Republicans. They agreed that transgender activists are trying to erase the differences between boys and girls; that “woke” corporations are forcing their values on Americans; and that schools, businesses, and even the military are telling Americans that the country is racist.
Survey responders most concerned with illegal immigration, family and fertility, and higher education were characterized as “consensus” Republicans. They agreed that illegal immigration undercuts American workers and lowers their wages; not enough people are married and having kids; and the education system only works for people who are able to succeed in college.
Those survey responders most concerned with globalization, worker power, and financialization were characterized as “new right” Republicans. They agreed that American manufacturing has been gutted by globalization and trade with China; workers have little control over their jobs and can’t do anything about it; and people make more money working Wall Street than building real businesses.
The survey respondents also overwhelmingly agreed that it’s become harder for a family to achieve middle-class security in America, that employers should offer better jobs and higher pay to bring in more workers, that colleges should have to bring down their costs and make loans themselves to students who need them, that tariffs are good and needed to boost American manufacturing, that the government should provide support to ensure that America is a leader in advanced technologies like semiconductors, that politicians should focus on cutting taxes and never consider raising them, and that the government shouldn’t implement welfare stipends under a “family benefit” policy.
However, survey respondents were more evenly divided on two issues. A lesser majority agreed that Wall Street investors are getting rich doing things that weaken our economy, and that unions are a negative force that harm workers, employers, and consumers.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Have you ever shown up to vote and were told at the voting location that your voting information does not match the information on your driver’s license? If this has happened to you, have you wondered if your vote was counted?
We finally know why this happens! And there’s someone fighting for you!
EZAZ.org put out a Call to Action for its Grassroots to speak at the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Meeting on September 27. One of the talking points included that voters are unknowingly being re-registered as a different political party or even in a different county than the county they live in. One of the commenters utilized this talking point.
Maricopa County’s legal team followed up by stating that during the MVD and Service Arizona process, when someone re-registers their vehicle in another county, sometimes the opt-out box is mischecked and changes voter registration without the voter knowing. Maricopa County Elections Director, Scott Jarrett, agreed.
👁🎥Maricopa Caught on VIDEO🎥👁@maricopacounty Board of Supervisors County lawyer & @RecordersOffice's Election Director admitted voters' registrations are being changed without the voter's knowledge‼️‼️‼️
Yes, this is the same elections department run by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. Both offices stated that the MVD and Service Arizona process is allowed under state statute. They are saying their hands are tied, and they can’t do anything about it.
This means that a voter could get mismatched information or be registered under the wrong party affiliation for something like re-registering a vehicle, registering a new vehicle, or getting a new license… And the voter wouldn’t even know until it’s too late!
So, then what would happen? If someone shows up to vote and their voting registration information is different from the information on their driver’s license, the voting location provides what is called a provisional ballot.
The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office says, “Provisional ballots are a fail-safe measure designed to ensure that all eligible voters have their ballots counted.” The county is supposed to go back and determine if voters who cast provisional ballots were legal and then count the ballots of those who are legal. But if provisional ballots are such a fail-safe measure, then consider this.
There are currently over 9,000 provisional ballots not counted in the Arizona Attorney General race. Abe Hamadeh is still fighting in the courts because his team has discovered many of these voters tend to vote in every election and some were mysteriously re-registered in another county. There are only 280 votes separating Mayes from Hamadeh.
Abe’s team has been trying for months to get access to the envelopes of provisional ballots to verify information of those who did cast a vote in such a way, but the counties have not allowed this to happen. This is ridiculous!
It’s time for the MVD and Service Arizona to change its misguided process. And it’s time for the courts to force the counties to allow Abe’s team to inspect the provisional ballot envelopes. After all, real election integrity ensures that every legal vote is counted.
Jeff Caldwell currently helps with operations at EZAZ.org. He is also a Precinct Captain, State Committeeman, and Precinct Committeeman in Legislative District 2. Jeff is a huge baseball fan who enjoys camping and exploring new, tasty restaurants! You can follow him on X here.
Legislation to separate election officials from political action committees is working its way through the Arizona Legislature, though receiving mixed signals from Democrats on their support for the proposal.
HB 2378, sponsored by Representative Leo Biasiucci, “prohibits the Secretary of State, a member of a county board of supervisors, a county recorder or any other officer in charge of elections, or their employee, from being a chairperson, treasurer or other member of a political action committee (PAC),” according to the purpose provided by the Arizona Senate.
The bill passed the House Committee on Municipal Oversight & Elections (MOE) back in January, receiving a unanimous and bipartisan vote of 10-0. It later cleared the House Rules Committee with a 5-3 vote. On the House floor, Biasiucci’s legislation gained 49 votes in support, and only 11 votes in opposition.
After HB 2378 made it past the House MOE Committee in January, bill sponsor, Representative Biasiucci, tweeted: “My bill, HB 2378, just passed the House Municipal Oversight and Elections Committee 10-0. Republicans and Democrats agree, you shouldn’t be involved in a PAC if you also oversee any significant aspect of election operations.”
My bill, HB2378, just passed the House Municple Oversight and Elections Committee 10-0. Republicans and Democrats in Arizona agree, you shouldn't be involved in a PAC(political action committee) if you also oversee any significant aspect of election operations. 🇺🇲
Representative Austin Smith also celebrated the bill’s approval by the House MOE Committee, writing, “An individual who is an elections officer or employee who oversees any significant aspect of election’s operations may not serve on a PAC board.”
The House Committee on Municipal Oversight & Elections just passed @Leo4AzHouse’s HB2378.
An individual who is an elections officer or employee who oversees any significant aspect of election’s operations may not serve on a PAC board.
Earlier this month, HB 2378 was heard in the Senate Elections Committee and received more opposition from Democrats there than in the House – perhaps predicting a frostier reception to the policy if and when it arrives on the Senate floor for a vote. Democrat Senator Anna Hernandez explained that she believed “this bill is overly broad” when casting her vote against the legislation in committee. Fellow Democrat Senator Juan Mendez complained that HB 2378 was “only a symbolic measure,” and Democrat Senator Priya Sundareshan said that “this seems to be a particular measure to punish a particular someone in an intraparty dispute.”
Senator Sundareshan’s comments were a veiled reference to Republican Maricopa County Recorder, Stephen Richer, who, in late 2021, formed a political action committee named Pro-Democracy Republicans of Arizona. The PAC posts its mission on its website: “The Arizona election wasn’t stolen. We Republicans simply had a presidential candidate who lost, while we had many other candidates who won. It’s time we Republicans accept and acknowledge that fact. Candidates come and go. But our democratic institutions are long-lasting, and peaceful transitions of power are a hallmark of the United States. We should not abandon this history in favor of conspiracy theorists and demagoguery. To that end, we are launching this PAC to support pro-democracy Arizona Republicans. We hope you will join us. We will win some races. We will lose some races. But either way, we will be strengthening the processes that have long undergirded Arizona and the United States.”
Richer’s creation of this PAC, while serving as Maricopa County’s top election official, angered many Republicans during the 2022 election cycle.
Senate Elections Chair, Senator Wendy Rogers, cast her vote in support of the bill, arguing, “If someone is in a position to influence the outcome of an election, thank you Rep Biasiucci for calling out the need to separate that kind of person from a PAC which is brought together to assert influence as well.”
HB 2378 awaits a vote in the Arizona Senate.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Election integrity measures haven’t been a source of unity for all Arizona Republicans over the past two years, but one bill just introduced by a state senator may have brought the party somewhat closer together on one aspect of reform.
The one-page bill, SB 1471, was recently introduced by Senator John Kavanagh, dealing with ballot tabulation and hand count comparison. According to the legislation, which would only apply to Arizona counties with a population of more than two million persons, “the officer in charge of elections in (these counties) shall randomly select four election precincts in the county from the ballot test decks used for logic and accuracy testing for the 2022 general election and shall recount all races using one hundred of those ballots from each precinct.” There would be a hand count of these ballots that would coincide with the machine count.
The legislation requires a county recorder to “compare the tabulator total and the hand count,” and take additional steps to recheck the counts should there be a “difference in the totals that is greater than one-tenth of one percent.” The county recorder would then “estimate how many persons working sixteen hours a day would be required to hand county the entire number of ballots cast in the November 2022 election.” After the conclusion of this process, the county recorder would transmit the report to the governor, president of the Arizona Senate, and the speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives.
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer released a statement this week that appeared to be in support of the legislation, saying, “Smart legislation is key to improving Arizona’s elections and voters’ trust. …This legislation will build confidence in our election system by showing that machine tabulation is highly accurate, free of bias and fast. Thanks to Senator Kavanagh for this good idea.”
It remains to be seen if Republicans at the Legislature will be appreciative of Recorder Richer’s statement on SB 1471. Maricopa County officials and members of the Arizona Legislature have not always seen eye-to-eye over election integrity since the 2020 presidential contest, and there are often competing interests or motivations even in a perceived daylight of agreement between two opposing factions. Some legislative Republicans may see this bill as an opportunity to validate hand counts, while other Republicans may view this legislation as an endorsement of machine counting.
This bill has not been assigned to a committee, nor does it have any cosponsors at the time of publication.
Should this legislation pass the Arizona Senate and House, it remains to be seen whether it would be signed into law by Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs, who has promised to use her veto stamp on bills she believes are partisan in nature.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: to those who want to work together to address Arizona's biggest challenges, my door is always open.
To those who would rather stick with their partisan agendas, my veto pen is ready.https://t.co/tC4Or9uRmb
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer said that early mail-in ballots are less problematic than in-person voting.
Richer made the remark during last month’s rowdy Board of Supervisors’ meeting to certify the election results. Richer said that this year’s early voting process had few issues, which he assured were remedied quickly.
“The early voting process is safe. It is secure, it is trackable, and it is subject to fewer of the caprices of in-person voting,” stated Richer.
The county recorder disclosed that preference at the end of his summary report on the county’s election processes and relevant data. He also took a swipe at critics.
“We can spend the next two years as we’ve spent the last two: fighting over conspiracy theories as promoted on social media by people who know nothing about elections,” stated Richer.
That line prompted loud, angry outcries from the audience. Gates pleaded calm, remarking that “the world is watching” as the audience shouted at Richer.
Richer continued, insisting that people should stop focusing on issues like splunk logs and ballot mules, and instead focus on legislative efforts like speeding up early vote processing.
Maricopa County Recorder @stephen_richer urges voters to move past frustrations over recent election issues: "We can spend the next two years as we’ve spent the last two: fighting over conspiracy theories as promoted on social media by people who know nothing about elections." pic.twitter.com/dOpzOL96Rm
Richer assured those present and the tens of thousands viewing the live stream of the meeting that the election was run efficiently despite Election Day hiccups with tabulators stemming from printer settings. Richer noted that political observers representing all parties were present throughout the election process.
Richer reported that Election Day voter registration totaled around 2.4 million. Approximately 77 percent of those were on the Active Early Voting List (AEVL); the county reportedly mailed out just under 1.9 million ballots.
There were 6,836 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) votes. Over 1.3 million million early ballots were returned early: 806,000 came through USPS. Of the 461,000 early ballots dropped off at drop box early voting locations, 290,000 were dropped off on Election Day. Richer remarked that the number of early ballots dropped off on Election Day were a significant increase, despite his “best efforts” to dissuade voters from doing that.
Richer walked through the early ballot review process. He dispelled rumors that the county uses artificial intelligence for signature verification.
Richer reported that on the day before Election Day, the county had processed all early ballots received by Saturday. By Wednesday morning they processed all early ballots they received by Sunday, Monday, or by mail on Tuesday.
Richer emphasized that the county didn’t compromise any aspect of their early ballot processing because of the “stink” raised by the community concerning signature verification over the last few years.
He reported that the Sunday after Election Day, the early vote team had to review provisional ballots and cure ballots. Approximately 16,000 ballots had “bad” signatures, and all were cured except about 1,800.
Elections are administered at the county level.
In Arizona, early voting and voter registration is administered by the 15 country Recorders (majority republican).
Election Day and tabulation is administered by 15 Boards of supervisors (majority Republican).
0 by Hobbs.
— Stephen Richer—Maricopa Cnty Recorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) November 22, 2022
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
