Gov. Doug Ducey has vetoed legislation which would have required county election officials to cancel the registration of anyone they determine is not qualified to vote. The move Friday, the first by the governor this session, came amid concerns from county officials that what was in HB 2617 could lead to mischief as it would allow individuals to make unsubstantiated claims that some people on the voter registration rolls should be removed. Jennifer Marson, executive director of the Arizona Association of Counties, said that, in turn, would trigger automatic investigations. Marson, in a letter Friday to Ducey, also pointed out what she said were illegal provisions in the measure. The governor, in his veto message, said he agrees. “The implementation of this provision is vague and lacks any guidance for how a county recorder would confirm such a determination,” Ducey wrote. “Our lawfully registered voters deserve to know that their right to vote will not be disturbed without sufficient due process,” he continued. “This provision leaves our election system vulnerable to bad actors who could seek to falsely allege a voter is not a qualified elector.”
National: Lawyer Who Plotted to Overturn Trump Loss Recruits Election Deniers to Watch Over the Vote | Alexandra Berzon/The New York Times
In a hotel conference center outside Harrisburg, Pa., Cleta Mitchell, one of the key figures in a failed scheme to overturn Donald J. Trump’s defeat, was leading a seminar on “election integrity.” “We are taking the lessons we learned in 2020 and we are going forward to make sure they never happen again,” Ms. Mitchell told the crowd of about 150 activists-in-training. She would be “putting you to work,” she told them. In the days after the 2020 election, Ms. Mitchell was among a cadre of Republican lawyers who frantically compiled unsubstantiated accusations, debunked claims and an array of confusing and inconclusive eyewitness reports to build the case that the election was marred by fraud. Courts rejected the cases and election officials were unconvinced, thwarting a stunning assault on the transfer of power. Now Ms. Mitchell is prepping for the next election. Working with a well-funded network of organizations on the right, including the Republican National Committee, she is recruiting election conspiracists into an organized cavalry of activists monitoring elections. In seminars around the country, Ms. Mitchell is marshaling volunteers to stake out election offices, file information requests, monitor voting, work at polling places and keep detailed records of their work. She has tapped into a network of grass-root groups that promote misinformation and espouse wild theories about the 2020 election, including the fiction that President Biden’s victory could still be decertified and Mr. Trump reinstated.
Full Article: Lawyer Who Plotted to Overturn Trump Loss Recruits Election Deniers to Watch Over the Vote – The New York Times