A statement this week seemed to suggest that Arizona's fifteen county recorders were solidly opposed to a ballot measure to beef up identification requirements for mail-in ballots. That turns out not to be the case.
Proposition 309 was placed on the ballot by the state legislature this year. It would require voters to a write their birthdate and a voter ID number on their mail-in ballot envelope, in addition to the signature that's now required.
Tuesday, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican, tweeted out a statement from the Arizona Association Of County Recorders urging a no vote on the proposition. It said the new identification requirement would add to county recorders' workload and slow the vote count, without improving security.
The statement listed all fifteen county recorders, leaving readers to conclude that all, Republicans and Democrats alike, opposed prop 309. But that's not the case. Cochise County Recorder David Stevens says Richer's post went out without his approval, and he supports prop 309.
Stevens is allied with Secretary of State candidate, and election denier, Mark Finchem, who claims without evidence the 2020 presidential race was rigged in favor of Joe Biden.
It's unclear whether any other county recorders also support the measure.
