Arizona's Legislature Opposed 24/7 Video Surveillance of Ballot Drop Boxes Fearing Discovery of Election Fraud Would Undermine Confidence in the Outcome of Elections
As a result, private citizens have stepped in to monitor the state's most vulnerable election infrastructure - unmanned ballot drop boxes. Democrats are asking the court to stop them.
Last week a federal judge ruled that private citizens can monitor Arizona’s ballot dropboxes after the State Senate refused to pass legislation requiring 24/7 monitoring of the state’s most vulnerable election infrastructure.1
Earlier this year, Arizona legislators proposed legislation that would have required 24/7 video monitoring of unmanned ballot drop boxes throughout the state. The argument against the legislation was articulated by State Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita who explained that the collection of video evidence of election fraud would be meaningless as it would only be reviewed AFTER the votes were counted and the results certified. The thinking in the Arizona legislature was that providing proof of fraud would undermine confidence in the election’s outcome and as a result, the legislation was defeated.2
Dinesh D’Souza’s documentary, 2000 Mules, proved that ballot drop boxes opened a gaping hole in the security of our nation’s election infrastructure.3 The primary takeaway from the film was that in areas where ballot drop boxes are necessary they must always be monitored 24/7 to prevent and deter election fraud - the fact that Arizona’s legislature decided to ignore the threat undermines voter confidence. While having private citizens monitoring unmanned ballot drop boxes is not ideal it is simply a response to the failure of Arizona’s elected officials to do their job. The answer is simple - get rid of the ballot drop boxes or monitor them.
