PHOENIX, ARIZONA— Senator Wendy Rogers and Representative Jacqueline Parker are actively working on solutions to correct issues arising from past legislation that creates unintentional challenges for Arizona counties in meeting federal election deadlines.
In 2022, SB 1008 passed the Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed by the Governor to improve voter confidence in election results. Prior to the law taking effect, an automatic recount of a statewide election would only happen when candidate results were within 200 votes. Now, the threshold for an automatic recount is half of a percentage point (0.50). As a result, a growing number of automatic recounts are expected to occur with the next election cycle, potentially delaying results and forcing counties to miss federal deadlines on races.
“We hosted the first of many stakeholder meetings today to hear from the boots on the ground who are in the thick of administering our elections, as well as legal experts. We want to make sure we have in-depth conversations with these stakeholders, so that we can identify the proper fix needed to strengthen the integrity of our elections and the confidence voters have when they cast their ballots,” said Representative Parker, Chair of the House Municipal Oversight & Elections Committee.
“In order to remedy the unintended consequences of this law, we must first draft proposed legislation, and that certainly won’t happen overnight. This is a painstaking process that will require feedback from everyone involved with our elections procedures,” said Senator Rogers, Chair of the Senate Committee on Elections. “We plan to resolve this conflict before the 2024 election, but we must first thoroughly and methodically work with all parties involved. This could very well take several months, but as Republicans, we are committed to coming up with a solution that is transparent, organized, accurate, secures our elections, and saves taxpayer dollars.
