Statement on Feb. 9 Election Hearing
"As an elected board of supervisors, our responsibility is to protect voters’ rights and ensure every lawful vote is counted and protected.
In a court hearing on January 26, two Recorder’s Office employees made public statements that included allegations of voter disenfranchisement. We take these claims incredibly seriously, and we need to know if they are true.
Disenfranchisement is a legal term that means being denied or deprived of the right to vote. I specifically asked Recorder Heap about this testimony in a public meeting last week and he contradicted what his employees said in court.
In the same court hearing, one of these witnesses contradicted the testimony of Board staff concerning budgetary issues, and a third Recorder’s Office employee provided testimony about the Elections’ IT system but admitted that portions of his previous testimony had been false. We can't do our job with incomplete or conflicting information.
The Board of Supervisors is committed to accountability in our elections. As Chair, using a tool provided under state law (ARS § 11-218), I am requiring these three Recorder’s Office employees to appear in a public hearing on Monday, February 9th so they can answer questions directly and clarify critical facts for my colleagues and me, as we perform our duties as County Supervisors. Voters deserve transparency and clear answers."
|
