Arizona Senator Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli (R-Lake Havasu) released a statement Tuesday blasting Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) for vetoing his bill, SB 1074, which he claims would have provided oversight to the electronic equipment used in the state’s elections.
“This bill would have taken the politics out of the voting process and created a neutral party that works for the Legislature. Fair and honest elections are a bi-partisan concern, albeit only when Democrats are the ones to benefit. Hobbs’ obstructive and cavalier attitude has been part of the destruction of transparency and oversight within our elections,” Borrelli said.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Governor Recklessly Vetoes Bill Aimed at Securing Electronic Voting Systems and Protecting Democracy @SonnyBorrelli pic.twitter.com/kgcqfh2kHr
— AZSenateRepublicans (@AZSenateGOP) April 11, 2023
Borrelli’s bill was one of the latest casualties in Hobbs’s recent veto sprees. Had it become law, SB 1074 would have required that electronic voting equipment could not be used as the “primary method for tabulating votes” in Arizona unless the machine meets or exceeds the cybersecurity standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense. These standards are in place to protect the personally identifiable information of U.S. citizens and Federal Contract Information from the country’s adversaries.
Additionally, the election equipment Borrelli mentioned could not be used in Arizona unless they, and their individual components, were produced entirely by American manufacturers, not imported from overseas. Moreover, under the bill, the Arizona Auditor General (AAG) would have been in charge of keeping the source code for this equipment on file. The AAG would then be responsible for giving out the code to qualified parties that could verify it to ensure the tabulation equipment is programmed to do what it is intended for.
“Any electronic device can be manipulated to have a certain outcome. You need source codes to determine this, but they’re not being provided with the current system,” Borrelli said.
However, Hobbs ultimately vetoed the bill because she claimed it was trying to solve a problem that did not exist. Moreover, she said the bill “neither strengthens our democracy, nor ensures Arizonans can better exercise their fundamental right to vote.”
Other state Democrats also opposed the bill as it ran through the Legislature. For example, State Representative Cesar Aguilar (D-Phoenix) argued the bill could have resulted in banning all electronic election systems in the state if it passed.
In response, Borrelli mentioned that election equipment is on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) list of crucial infrastructure (CI). Anything designated as CI is considered vital to preserving American society, which could be debilitated without them. Some CI include manufacturing, communications, emergency services, food and agriculture, and government.
As Borrelli said, DHS recognized election infrastructure as part of the government sector of CI in 2017. This includes “systems used to manage elections,” such as counting or auditing ballots.
“This means these systems should be subjected to the same national security standards that the U.S. Department of Defense would apply to any critical infrastructure,” Borrelli said.
In any case, Hobbs made her final decision. While it is possible for the Legislature to put a vetoed bill into law by passing it through both Houses with two-thirds support, SB 1074 only made it to Hobbs’s office along party lines.
As reported by The Arizona Sun Times, Hobbs is starting to get a reputation as the “Veto Queen” due to the number of bills she has vetoed this session. As of Tuesday, that number has risen to 42, with most being partisan bills pushed by Republicans along party lines.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Sonny Borrelli” by Arizona State Troopers Association. Photo “Katie Hobbs” by Katie Hobbs. Photo “Election Day” by Phil Roeder. CC BY-SA 2.0.
