The Mohave County Republican Central Committee said that a plan to count ballots by hand rather than using voting machines in 2024 is within reach due to the hard work and advocacy of Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli (R-Lake Havasu).
According to the Mohave County GOP, the chance to return to hand-counting ballots is within reach.
“Ready to ditch the machines and return to hand-counting ballots. Now is our chance. Thanks to the hard work of Sonny Borrelli, it is within reach,” the Mohave County GOP said.
Last month, the Mohave County Board of Supervisors directed staff to review and develop a plan for tabulating the 2024 elections by hand. Between June 22nd, 2023, and June 26th, 2023, the Mohave County Elections Department conducted a study to test the feasibility and best practices of carrying out a full-hand tabulation of the 2024 elections.
According to a press release, the Mohave County Elections Department has developed a plan for tabulating the 2024 elections by hand, which will be presented at a special board of supervisors meeting on Tuesday to discuss and review the proposed plan.
The Mohave County GOP is encouraging residents to attend a Monday meeting of the Mohave County Board of Supervisors to show their support for this election change before the board of supervisors meets for its special board meeting next Tuesday to take “possible action” on the plan to hand count ballots for the 2024 election.
“We need people to attend the Mohave County Board of Supervisors meeting on Monday morning to voice their support and get this done,” the Mohave County GOP said.
In a June statement to the board of supervisors, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes shared his concerns about the potential of hand counts to put officials in legal jeopardy and cautioned that counting by hand is more prone to human error.
However, according to Borrelli, Mohave County needs to switch to hand-counting ballots because electronic voting machines are vulnerable to hacking, and the government has no jurisdiction over them.
“Our electronic voting systems, which are made with components from countries considered adversaries to the U.S. puts Arizona as well as the rest of the nation in an extremely vulnerable and dangerous position. This is a national security issue. If we cannot have free and fair elections, we are in trouble,” Borrelli said.
Borrelli introduced Senate Bill (SB) 1074 earlier this year, which aimed to prohibit electronic voting systems in Arizona as the primary method for conducting, counting, tabulating, or verifying federal elections. Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed the legislation in April, claiming that counting ballots by hand takes more time and is less accurate.
Despite Hobbs’ veto, the Mohave County Board of Supervisors voted to consider doing a hand count of the 2024 election last month. The county will ultimately need to approve the hand-count plan. According to the press release, the board may adopt, modify, or reject the proposed plan to count the ballots by hand for the 2024 elections at Tuesday’s special meeting.
The Arizona Sun Times contacted the Mohave County GOP for additional comment but did not receive a reply before press time.
The Arizona Sun Times also reached out to Borrelli for remarks but did not receive a reply before press time.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star, The Star News Network, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
