City Council Needs to Revisit Vote-by-Mail Decision
As Tucson prepares to largely scrap polling places and institute an all-mail-voting system in the next election, something happened just south of our city that should raise red flags (Guest Commentary, April 14 and April 28).
The post office apparently misplaced an entire tray of ballots for the city of Sahuarita. While the Sahuarita city clerk has issued replacement ballots, this undercuts one of the main arguments that the City Recorder’s Office made to the Tucson City Council—that they know where the ballots are at all times.
In the days after the City Council’s April decision to mandate a mail-in-only election this year, I heard from many Tucsonans who were concerned with the decision to largely do away with the way people have traditionally voted in our representative form of government. Over the last two elections, 45 percent of all votes were cast at the polls. There are broader concerns too, namely that the integrity of our elections may be compromised.
Efforts at the Capitol to preserve Tucson’s hybrid voting system were unsuccessful. I attached an amendment to address this issue to SB 1331, which was vetoed for unrelated reasons.
However, there is still time for the Tucson City Council to revisit their decision. As we recently learned, there are risks, errors and mistakes to a mail-in-only election.
Councilman Steve Kozachik has proposed that the question of whether future elections are conducted by mail-in ballot be referred to the voters this fall. I support this proposal.
All voters, regardless of their party registration, should have a say in how they will be allowed to participate in future city elections.
State Rep. Ted Vogt
This article appears in May 26 – Jun 1, 2011.
Wow, Ted who doesn’t live in the City tries to help his brother Tyler who is running for the City Council of????? Tucson in Ward 4 and for which Tyler still hasn’t gotten his signatures, and sends nasty letters to women.
Gee, if Ted were paying attention or knew his history, Arizona is a state and which the cities, under the federal voting rights act, must file a report to the U.S. Justice Department about election plans for review and approval. So these reports, according to the Tucson City Clerk, had to be filed in April.
But Ted has been busy, screwing over the people with his recent actions, as a state legislator.
Ted doesn’t bother to mention the other cities that have vote by mail in his “letter,” which would still have vote by mail. When asked? No concern. Rules, Ted Vogt doesn’t live by no stinking rules!
Ted Vogt also showed that he is no math-wiz either. “In the past two Tucson city elections, an average of 85 percent of the voters who cast their ballots used early-vote by mail for the two primary elections, and 63 percent used early-vote by mail for the two general elections.” This quote from the article was fact based, from the voter turnout material from the past two elections from the Tucson City Clerk.
Facts, figures and results don’t mean anything to Ted Vogt. With half the voters in Tucson signed up to receive their ballot already early in the mail.
If Ted really cared, he would not have supported legislation allowing the counties to consolidate their polling places.
Also, which way does Ted Vogt vote?
Even using Ted’s figure: if 45% of ballots were cast at the polls, that means that 55% of ballots were cast in the mail. So…I guess the City Recorder’s Office didn’t know where all the ballots were at all times. And if Ted were so concerned about mail-in ballots, why would he try and preserve the hybrid voting system? He should be trying to get rid of it and going back to all-polls voting. Furthermore, as Ted admits, the Sahuarita ballot issue was resolved.
The real motivation behind this rant is paper thin.
Anyone with more than two brain cells know that an all mail-in ballot election vastly simplifies and invites voter fraud over a request a mail-in ballot system. Just as lefties in this state (a clear minority) does all it can to thwart methods eliminating voter fraud , such as filing outrageous and fatuous lawsuits (with government funds), their simpatico pols continually create new methods to increase voter fraud for their financial supporters to exploit. Ad hominem and factually false attacks on Messrs Vogt does not change the facts of the argument.