Grand Canyon Times

The Voter Reference Foundation (VRF) has said that ballot drop boxes in Arizona's Maricopa County should be manned with staff from the two major parties, based on the discovery that one of two drop boxes lacked proper surveillance during the primary.

Maricopa County Republican Chairman Mickie Niland said the county's drop box camera was not recording during the primary and reported the surveillance error, the Foundation said.

“When footage from the drop box was requested, Maricopa County acknowledged that due to an error the video was livestreaming only and was not recorded. Recording began the day after the county chairman requested the video,” the Foundation said. “VRF believes there should be manned drop boxes only, with staff from the two major parties stationed at the box the entire time it is open. Arizona State Representative Jake Hoffman ran a bill to do just that, House Bill 2238, but it died in the Arizona Senate last session.”

Niland wants the County Board of Supervisors to remove the drop box at the Maricopa County Juvenile County Court in Mesa, Arizona, before November's General Election, the Foundation said.

“Maricopa County Republicans do not trust drop boxes. We have VERY serious concerns about unstaffed drop boxes,” Niland said in a press release from the Maricopa County Republican Committee. “However, we have grave concerns about unstaffed and unmonitored drop boxes where the lack of video recording goes noticed for three weeks. We appreciate the Elections Department's honesty in owning up to the lack of recording; however, this is a serious breach of public trust.”

The Foundation said that Attorney General Mark Brnovich brought litigation over the lack of a 2022 Elections Procedures Manual. In siding with Brnovich, “Yavapai County Superior Court Judge John Napper opined that unmanned drop boxes were unlawful under current law,” according to the Foundation.