Arizonans applying for poll worker positions in Cochise County during this fall’s election are being asked to answer some unusual questions, including ones regarding their motives. Cochise County Elections Director Lisa Marra added the questions this year to the poll workers’ application, some believe, in an effort to screen out those with concerns about election fraud, which Marra speaks derisively about frequently on Twitter.
Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward tweeted in May that she heard “Election Departments around Arizona are requiring illegal ‘ideological tests’ of poll workers & that they are actively discriminating against #AmericaFirst Republican applicants.”
One of the questions on the Cochise County form asks applicants, “What is your motivation for serving as a Poll Worker?” A full seven questions ask the applicants how comfortable they are with technology, which could be easily used to screen out the elderly, particularly ones who prefer paper ballots to voting machines.
There has been a significant increase in Republicans applying for these positions this year, with Republican officials calling for 5,000 Republicans to serve in these slots in Arizona. Historically, poll worker positions have been dominated by Democrats.
Further, Democrats have been deploying poll workers for years – we are only trying to get a seat at the same table.
At the TCF Center in 2020, just 170 of the more than 5,400 Detroit poll workers were Republicans. (5/7)
— Ronna McDaniel (@RonnaMcDaniel) June 1, 2022
Cochise County Republican Party chairman Robert Montgomery urged Marra to aim to hire Republicans for 50 percent of the poll workers. Republicans in Cochise County greatly outnumber Democrats, 31,736 to 20,770.
Montgomery submitted a public records request to the Cochise County Attorney’s Office for the names of the poll workers from 2020 who have been hired again in 2022. He is concerned that the ones who expressed concern about voter fraud are being excluded this year. Arizona law requires county boards to “whenever possible” appoint election inspectors at each voting center who have had previous experience as an inspector, judge, marshal, or clerk of elections.
Marra regularly tweets her disdain for election integrity measures. On Tuesday, she retweeted someone slamming an executive order former President Donald Trump issued that gives the president power to impose sanctions against foreign entities illegally changing U.S. elections.
On Monday, she criticized a hand recount ordered in a Los Angeles race, referring to “stalkers” who have “ludicrous” attacks that waste tax dollars.
I don't even have words. Except that we get the govt we deserve. So they say. And we're all voters. I always go back to taxpayer dollars. The attacks are ludicrous. But here we are. Sad the taxpayer dollars won't be better utilized. For the stalkers, we are ALL taxpayers.
— Lisa M. Marra (@LisaMarra) July 12, 2022
In February, Marra criticized the possibility of the Arizona Senate reviewing Cochise County’s election processes. She tweeted, “Most counties in America are attacked by conspiracy theorists from the outside. In our amazing border county that threat to election integrity comes from within … By elected officials who continue to support the claim the election was stolen.”
Last year, Marra ridiculed the independent Maricopa County ballot audit, comparing those concerned about voter fraud to so-called “Q supporters.”
She tweeted, “Here we are. For all the Q followers the past 4 years. What a massive ‘jokes on you moment.’ It would be hysterical if it wasn’t so detrimental to people. All people. Not just voters. They deliberately undermined voter confidence. And so many took the bait. Scary how easy it was.”
Here we are. For all the Q followers the past 4 years. What a massive "jokes on you moment". It would be hysterical if it wasn't so detrimental to people. All people. Not just voters. They deliberately undermined voter confidence. And so many took the bait. Scary how easy it was.
— Lisa M. Marra (@LisaMarra) April 26, 2021
She also slammed the hand count as “ridiculous,” and said there is “no way people will get accurate counts.” Another tweet said “voter confidence should never have been undermined in the first place by elected officials or a President telling people it would be rigged. It wasn’t. #TheBigLie” She called for an end to “this imaginary election conspiracy,” stated it was “dangerous,” and declared “no irregularities were found.”
Marra co-authored an op-ed for The Arizona Republic in 2020 calling for conducting elections completely by mail. It was in response to an op-ed criticizing all-mail elections by State Representative Shawnna Bolick (R-Phoenix), who is currently running for secretary of state and championing election integrity.
Eric Spencer, an attorney for the Republican National Committee and a former Arizona state elections director, has filed public records requests with every county in Arizona in order to ensure that Republicans aren’t being turned away from working elections. He and the RNC have requested documents that would show “any limitations to serving as a poll worker or otherwise temporary worker based on political views,” like their social media posts, whether they’ll be asking to “disavow certain political views,” and “making worker assignments based (in whole or in part) on political views.”
Read the questionnaire:
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Read the letter:
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo ” Lisa Marra” by Huachuca Area Republican Women. Background Photo “Arizona Capitol” by Adavyd. CC BY-SA 3.0.
Lisa Marra is blatantly discriminating against aging Americans by pushing electronic voting instead of paper ballots, which is preferred by a majority of seniors.I am sure. But where is her data?
A thorough investigation into history, ownership, problems, internet access, and outcomes of Dominion Voting machines, here in the U.S. Venezuela, and other countries that used DVMs and how those countries are struggling today should be troubling to everyone.
Return to precinct voting with paper ballots when possible, and use mail in as an exception when appropriate.
Investigate EVERY DMV office for corrupt employees being bribed to provide undocumented individuals fake ID and drivers licenses abd the NGOs coordinati g these illegal crimes.