Arizona Capitol Times by Kiera Riley June 26, 2023
A Maricopa County superior court judge declined to dismiss Kari Lake’s public records bid for access to ballot affidavit envelopes today.
Maricopa County argued the ballot affidavit signatures are part of the voter registration record and are therefore rendered confidential by state law, aside from a few choice exceptions which county attorneys claimed Lake failed to meet.
Judge John Hannah rebuffed the argument as the incorporation of ballot affidavit envelopes into the voter registration records is not mandated nor defined by law, but common practice among county recorders.
Hannah ruled from the bench and said the court is “not required to defer to the elections officials in how they have historically interpreted” the law. He noted he had “no quarrel” with interpretation but said he did not agree with it.
“I am not convinced that the ballot affidavit is a voter registration record,” Hannah said. “It is a record from which the election officials derive information that becomes part of the voter registration record, but that doesn’t mean the ballot affidavit itself is a voter registration record.”
Hannah then tasked the parties with litigating under public records law instead, meaning the county must argue releasing the records would violate privacy interests or run counter to the best interest of the state.
At oral arguments today, Joseph LaRue, senior election attorney for Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, previewed arguments from the county against disclosing the records.
The county concedes that the ballot affidavit envelopes are public records, but they claim they have “several” vested interests in keeping the records confidential.
More:
https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2023/06/26/judge-declines-to-dismiss-lakes-bid-for-access-to-ballot-affidavit-envelopes/
