Hobbs Ignores Opportunity to Provide Election Oversight

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, June 8, 2023

Hobbs Ignores Opportunity to Provide Election Oversight

PHOENIX, ARIZONA — In an effort to provide more oversight and transparency into the Arizona Elections Procedures Manual, Senator Anthony Kern (R-27) sponsored SB 1213. However, the Governor unreasonably vetoed this bill today.

SB 1213 would have required that the Elections Procedures Manual, which helps ensure consistent and efficient election practices, be approved by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) in addition to the Governor and the Attorney General. The purpose of JLAC is to direct the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) to conduct audits of state agencies on behalf of the Legislature, oversee audit functions of the state and other agencies, and appoint the Auditor General. The committee also has the power of legislative subpoenas and requires agencies to comply with findings.

"This bill presented a great opportunity for both Republican and Democrat legislators to provide input on this document which is important to our elections process," said Senator Kern. "We as legislators create the laws that ultimately form the manual, so it makes complete sense that we'd also provide oversight for it. I'm incredibly disappointed the Governor chose to label this as an effort to 'meddle' with Arizona's elections in her veto letter when there is a serious need for more oversight within many aspects of our state's elections process."

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For more information, contact:

Kim Quintero

Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus

kquintero@azleg.gov