Author Archive: Bob Karp

Secretary of State Adrian Fontes pushes voter registration, addresses push to ditch partisan ballots

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Something to think about!

AZ Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes did what a good SOS does, advocated for people to get registered to vote.  Read the entire article because now there is a push to get rid of the partisan nomination ballot and have everybody run on a single ballot.
From the Cronkite News article by Kiersten Edgett/Cronkite News: "The events came after a recently launched campaign to amend the state constitution and rework Arizona’s primary elections structure.  The proposed initiative, known as the Make Elections Fair Act, seeks to change Arizona primary elections to one single ballot with all running candidates, rather than partisan ballots given based on voters’ political affiliations."
Read the entire article here.
Commentary by Bob Karp
There needs to be some serious discussion of this nonpartisan nomination ballot.  Seems like a terrible idea of the minority party in the state which is the Democratic Party. We already have enough problems at the national level with minority rule (the filibuster in the Senate and the Electoral College) to introduce the same problems at the state level in Arizona makes me concerned.  Stay tuned!

Cochise Elections Director resigns after less than four months

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Commentary by Bob Karp

From Arizona Public Media (AZPM.org) by Summer Hom:
"The Cochise County Elections Director has resigned, again.
If it seems like déjà vu, and that’s because it is - the second time this year that a County Elections Director has resighted
Cochise County Recorder David Stevens and Cochise County Supervisor Tom Crosby confirmed to AZPM Monday that Cochise County Elections Director Bob Bartelsmeyer handed in his resignation last Friday. Supervisor Ann English and Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre also confirmed.  English said in an email that Bartelsmeyer handed in his two-week notice on Friday. That puts Bartelsmeyer's last day on the job as September 29."
Read more at AZPM.org

Commentary by Bob Karp

Have we, the residents of Cochise County, had enough yet?  Now the county Elections Director, Bob Barelsmeyer, forced upon the voting public by County Recorder David Stevens, and Supervisor Tom Crosby (with the vote and help of Supervisor Peggy Judd), has resigned and returned to his PREVIOUS position in La Paz county.

Let's remember that as part of his employment agreement, he was given a relocation allowance.

A number of questions about how Cochise County is governed come immediately to mind:

  1. Does the Board of Supervisors plan to claw back the reimbursed expenses?
  2. How did the hiring process go off the rails and who is to blame for it?
  3. Will the BoS and the County Administrator now step in to make sure that future hiring practices and employment contracts are fair to both the employee and to the county?
  4. Why would La Paz county take this guy back?
  5. Was there private meetings and agreements in La Paz about this that violate Arizona Open Meeting Laws?
  6. How are the two November 2023 special elections going to conducted when the two remaining Elections Department employees have not been with the department for a previous election?
It is time to demand answers from the people that govern and run Cochise County.

 

Arizona Republican voter suppression laws get blocked

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'Discriminatory intent': Judge smacks down Arizona laws that seek to ban certain voters

From raw story:  "A federal judge has blocked two Arizona laws that sought to impose new voting restrictions – and has cleared the way for civil rights groups to examine the reasons Republican legislators tried to push them through, according to a report."
Read the entire story at RawStory.com 

 

LUCHCA looking for Cochise Field Organizer

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Learn more about the Cochise County Field Organizer position

About LUCHA: "Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), is an organization led by changemakers fighting for social, racial, and economic transformation.  At LUCHA, we organize low- and moderate-income and minority families to take action on the issues most important to them and advance the cause of social and economic justice for all."
More information about the job and how to apply for it here.

 

 

Commentary – Cochise County Assessor on vote centers

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Commentary by Bob Karp: Cochise County Assessor wants to go back to the "good old days" of voting in precincts

Letter to Cochise County Board of Supervisors

While I appreciate that Assessor Leiendecker believes a return to last century's (actually we had precinct voting up until 2015 ) voting procedures  would be a good thing, he only mentions "sense of community" as a real value.  I would remind him that "voters always vote at the same location in their neighborhood".  is unsupported by reality. In the past polling places often changed and voters had to search for the correct one. Also that the precinct level voting "eliminates long lines".  There is nothing that says that is necessarily correct.  Maybe the lines could be shorter, but by adding many more untrained poll workers and elections equipment to the mix, the likelihood of election day problems goes up.
How would the county run elections in 55 precincts?  Cost of equipment, training, moving highly secured equipment to many more locations, transport of ballots to and from the precincts.  I assume in the background is this wonderful idea of paper ballots that go into a lock box.  Election results would take weeks to accurately count.
Leiendeck has a 1950s view of the elections world and it doesn't line up with today's working families who need to be able to vote at the most convenient location which often is close to work so they can go at lunch or to and from work.
Vote centers are popular with the voting public and when the public finds out that for some nostalgic reason or something more nefarious, the costs of elections goes up three or four hundred percent, they will remember the politicians that ushered in this step back.  Let's go to the data.  Approximately 80% of Arizona voters vote by mail-in ballot.  The public doesn't need a "community event" on election day.  Just an easy way to cast their vote.
Don't do it!
By the way I don't miss "the election day process of voting at the local precinct polling location, seeing neighbors and poll workers who you know  and live around."
 A final word.  Of course Mr. Leiendeck has every right to comment on matters before the Board of Supervisors.  AS A PRIVATE citizen if it doesn't directly relate to his elected position in county government.  However, he signed his letter to the BoS has "Cochise County Assessor" meddling in a decision that his office should stay out of.

Letter to the Editor: Fred Miller Ali Morse

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As published in the Herald/Review online 8/25/23

To the editor:

We would like to thank Cochise County Supervisors Peggy Judd and Ann English for voting against the extension of the $1 million grant for "ballot fraud countermeasures."

 

Through no fault of their own, this controversial grant had been beset by procurement issues, ongoing delays, and the failure of Recorder David Stevens to provide proper paperwork. The grant was an expensive and poorly administered attempt to solve a non-existent problem. Although the grant was terminated on Tuesday, Recorder Stevens had already spent over $187,500 of taxpayers’ money without board approval.

 

Additional thanks to English and Judd who indicated at Tuesday’s work session that they are in favor of having oversight of the Cochise County elections department return to the county administrator.

Recorder Stevens has been in charge of elections since late February and will step down Sept. 7. His responsibilities included hiring Elections Director Bob Bartelsmeyer and overseeing the unlawful acceptance of petitions to repeal the Douglas AMA, for which the county was sued.

 

We believe these votes by Supervisors Judd and English are a positive step toward beginning to rebuild trust in elections that has been seriously eroded over the past year.

Fred Miller

Bisbee

Ali Morse

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