Governor's Veto of a Bipartisan Bill Aimed at Providing Election Transparency is a Disgrace

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Governor's Veto of a Bipartisan Bill Aimed at Providing Election Transparency

is a Disgrace

PHOENIX, ARIZONA— Senator Ken Bennett (LD -1) is expressing outrage after Governor Hobbs vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have provided Arizona voters with transparency measures to create increased confidence in our elections.

HB 2560, co-sponsored by Senator Bennett, would have allowed the public to use a secure portal provided by the Secretary of State to download public documents including the anonymous ballot images, and the spreadsheet where the votes are tabulated known as a cast-vote record, while still protecting the identity of voters. With this data, the public could verify that the votes were properly recorded and that the number of ballots matches the number of voters reported by each county.

"I couldn't be more furious at the governor's decision to disregard the need for complete transparency in our elections," said Senator Bennett. "Voting is the sacred way we as Americans give our consent to be governed and the people of Arizona should have confidence in the integrity of that process. To increase voter confidence, we need to demystify the election process and allow the public the transparency it deserves. In order to have this in place by the 2024 elections, we need legislation signed this session, not a year from now."

"In her veto letter, Hobbs claimed the bill 'threatens anonymity and privacy' and 'opens the door to the spread of additional election mis- and dis-information.' This couldn't be further from the truth. There is nothing in this bill that would have disclosed information to threaten either. Voters' identities would be protected. This bill would have helped eliminate mis- and dis-information and is a solution to this serious issue," said Bennett.

"I worked hard with both sides of the aisle for two years to address the lack of trust in our state's elections, which is why this bill had bipartisan support, including from Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. Clearly, Governor Hobbs is going back on her promise to support legislation with bipartisan support by vetoing yet another," said Senator Bennett.

In addition to the 50 Arizona Republican and Democrat Legislators who voted for the bill, Democrats in Arizona, Florida, New York, Tennessee, North Carolina, California, and other states believe it could have set a national example for how to restore trust in our elections. Please see the attached letters of support from Democratic leaders across the country.

###

For more information, contact:

Kim Quintero

Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus

kquintero@azleg.gov