Opinion: Arizona elections are well-run, but the system can be improved. Here are 3 ways state lawmakers can make it even easier to vote and harder to cheat.
By Stephen Richer | Maricopa County recorder/opinion contributor
Arizona is a national leader in election law. We conduct well-run elections. But that doesn’t mean we are perfect or that the system should never be touched.
Arizona is home to well-run elections that make it easy to vote and hard to cheat.
Over the past year, this truth has been upheld in these ways:
- Multiple audits.
- A bipartisan hand-count.
- Ten Arizona court rulings (including from the Arizona Supreme Court).
- A statement from the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
- A statement by then-U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr and his team.
- The Arizona attorney general.
- Local law enforcement and cybersecurity analysts.
- Any time spent further litigating past elections is imprudent.
It would be just as silly, however, to conclude that Arizona’s elections have reached perfection and should never be touched.
We don’t need Congress to do this for us
Arizona’s elections can and should be improved. Much of that improvement depends on our 15 county recorders and county election directors.
These local experts should work with their teams to implement new methodologies and technologies, as well as recruit and train capable elections workers.
Improvements in process should be bolstered by advances in election law. This is not an area that requires congressional action.
The administration of elections has been the province of the states since the drafting of the U.S. Constitution. The system has worked. It can continue to work.
3 areas where Arizona can continue to lead
