As you know, the Pima County Board of Supervisors recently approved the use of voting centers in Pima County.
Now more than ever, we need YOU to show Pima County why voting centers are ESSENTIAL to creating a more equitable election process. Show your support for this decision by giving the Elections department your feedback!
Here are some talking points you can use, although we HIGHLY suggest using your own words:
- The current precinct model is overly complicated and makes it more difficult to vote.
- The precinct model puts an unnecessary burden on working families, who have to arrange their schedules and transit around getting to a specific precinct polling center. Voting centers allow voters to go to the most convenient location for them, making voting much more accessible.
- Voting centers are required to be accessible to all voters, so when choosing locations for centers, they must take into consideration those voters from communities which are often excluded from polling locations, such as rural voters.
- Voting centers are already used in 11 out of 15 counties in Arizona, leaving Pima behind the curve. Additionally, the proposed vote centers would use e-pollbook technology, which is already used by every Arizona county except for Pima County. It’s time for Pima to catch up to the rest of the state.
- Voting centers make voting both faster and more secure, cutting down check-in times significantly and eliminating human error from the check-in process.
- Voting centers would save Pima County over $100,000 per election by reducing the need for provisional ballots.
Moving from our current outdated system to the vote center model is not a scary new leap: it’s just catching us up to the times.
Make your voice heard and let Pima County Elections know that voters support vote centers NOW!
NOTE: THIS POST IS FROM OCT 2022
Let’s face it, most of us don’t recognize any of the judges’ names on the ballot. These are important positions, technically non-partisan, but these jurists’ decisions can be highly partisan.
All seven sitting Arizona Supreme Court justices are Republicans, appointed by Republican Governors Jan Brewer and Doug Ducey from lists that bipartisan commissions compiled. They serve six-year terms, after which voters can vote to retain or reject them. The same applies to Pima County Court of Appeals and Pima County Superior Court judges, although the latter serve four-year terms.
Many Arizona Democrats rely on the group Civic Engagement Beyond Voting to stay current on a plethora of issues. CEBV is worthy of its own “Notes from the Chair” column. They do amazing work, including judicial recommendations. Before making your own decision, please read CEBV’s recommendations here:
CEBV is recommending NO votes on the following judges who’ll appear on Pima ballots:
SUPREME COURT:
John Lopez, an extremely conservative judge who Ducey appointed in 2016 when Ducey expanded the court. Lopez voted to bump Invest in Ed off the ballot in 2018, and to allow a business to deny a same-sex couple its services.
Andrew Gould is another extreme conservative who Ducey appointed during the 2016 expansion. In addition to voting against allowing Invest in Ed on the ballot, he voted in 2020 to prevent secure online signatures for ballot measures.
SUPERIOR COURT:
Paul Tang. CEBV has serious reservations based on a 2018 child-abuse case in which Tang rejected a mother’s claim that she, too, had been abused. An appeals court overturned the decision.
COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION 2:
Sean Brearcliffe. Brearcliffe donated to Ducey’s campaign while a sitting judge who Ducey was considering for a Court of Appeals appointment. In 2015, he ruled that a gay couple could not divorce because, in his opinion, their marriage was invalid. He said he had no obligation to adhere to federal court precedent. He sought to dismiss the case “with prejudice,” which would have prevented the couple from filing again.
As you review the CEBV site, you may identify other judges who do not align with your expectations of our judicial institutions. It is well worth the time to do your homework.
