BMD&F December 2022 Monthly Meeting
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NO MONTHLY MEETING IN DECEMBER
HAPPY HOLLIDAYS!
We look forward to seeing you in the New Year!
OUR MONTHLY MEETINGS RESUME
When: Saturday, January 21, 2023
Where: Desert Foothills Library
38443 N School House Rd, Cave Creek, AZ
Time: Social time 10:15 - 10:30 am
Meeting starts 10:30 - 11:30 am
You can also join us on-line via Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4209640134?pwd=cjVLYkNDTjAyOC92SThvZjhVVHJXUT09
Meeting ID: 420 964 0134
Passcode: 2020
GUEST SPEAKER
JEANNE CASTEEN, Executive Director of Secular Arizona
Jeanne is a lifelong educator and advocate for social justice. She is currently Executive Director of Secular Arizona, an organization whose objective is to remove religious influences from government. Jeanne was a former School Board President and candidate for AZ Senate in 2022.
Throughout her career Jeanne has worked to support marginalized communities. She was key to implementing a program that provides meals for families dealing with food insecurities. In addition, she worked to open a bilingual preschool designed to help families that are financially struggling.
Casteen brings a holistic understanding of how Christian nationalism is seeping into every sector of our society and what we can do to combat it. She will delve into the work of Turning Point USA on school and college campuses. Jeanne emphasizes that secular does not mean ‘anti-religion.’ Secular Arizona advocates for public policy free of religious preference as the best way to ensure freedom of conscience for Arizonans of all faiths and of none.
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Rep. Ben Toma of Peoria was elected the new House speaker over Turning Point USA’s pick for the job. Ultra-conservative Rep. Joseph Chaplik was re-elected as one of the two state Representatives for LD3. No Democratic candidate ran against him. Turning Point USA has become a powerhouse force in Arizona Republican politics. They spent $377,000 in the unsuccessful attempt to defeat Kelly, Hobbs and Fontes.
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WE WON!
Congratulations to these successful candidates and to all of the Democratic candidates who ran a hard race, and thanks to everyone who supported them in so many ways.
Candidates who won the support of voters:
Mark Kelly 51.4%
Katie Hobbs 50.3%
Adrian Fontes 52.4%
Kris Mayes 50.0%*
Kelly Butler Maricopa Comm College Board
Stephanie Simacek Deer Valley USD Board
Ylenia Aguilar Central AZ Water Board
Alexandria Arboleda Central AZ Water Board
Benjamin Graff Central AZ Water Board
‘No’ votes defeated these Judicial candidates; all others re-elected
Crandell 52% No
Hopkins 63% No
Sukenic 60% No
Propositions that were supported by voters:
Prop 130 63.8% Property Tax Exemptions for Veterans
Prop 131 55.2% Create Office of Lieutenant Governor
Prop 132 50.7% Supermajority Required for Tax Referendum
Prop 308 51.2% In-state College Tuition Benefit for Dreamers
Prop 209 72.0% Limit Predatory Debt Collection
Prop 211 72.4% Stop Dark Money
Voter demographics:
Percent of voters by age groups:
Baby Boomers Millennials and Gen Z’s
(age 65+) (age 18 – 34)
Registered voters 28% 26%
Turned out to vote 40% 12%
Casted early ballots 42% 13%
Voted for Kelly 34% 76%
Voted for Hobbs 46% 71%
With a 510-vote lead for Kris Mayes, a recount is scheduled to begin December 5th with the outcome predicted to be known around December 25th. If her lead sustains, she will be sworn in on January 2, 2023. It will be the first time since 1972 that Democrats have taken the top three statewide races in Arizona.
NOTE: Statistics were updated at time of printing this Bulletin, but they are not final tallies. Some data were acquired through exit polls.
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HOW DOES THE RECOUNT PROCESS WORK?
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Any automatic recount cannot start until after the statewide canvass of the election results. That’s because the canvass is the official tally of votes, and those numbers are needed to determine if a recount is required.
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After that date, if the results meet the above criteria, the Secretary of State must go to court to get an order setting up the recount.
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Then the Secretary’s office must travel to all 15 county elections offices to perform logic and accuracy tests on the tabulation machines. Those tests basically make sure the machines are tabulating the votes accurately. Once certified, the machines are then reprogrammed to only count votes for the races that are being recounted. That could take until the second week of December.
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A new law also requires 2% of each county’s votes to be counted by hand to ensure the accuracy of the machine tabulators. The people counting those ballots are affiliated with the two major political parties. Observers are selected by the Republican, Democratic and Libertarian parties.
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The results of any recounts will be unsealed in court by a judge. The entire process could take until the end of the year to complete.
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Arizona’s audit law is strong in that it requires a hand count of a certain number of ballots, and then if mistakes are found, more ballots are examined, which could eventually lead to a full hand recount.
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This process can’t be asked for by a candidate or anyone else; the Secretary of State must initiate the process in the courts.
WHAT IS BALLOT CURING?
Arizona is one of 24 states that ‘cures’ its ballots to ensure that every vote counts. Ballot curing is a procedure where a voter is notified of a signature-related error involving his/her ballot and is given time to correct that error. Under Arizona law, voters have five business days after Election Day to verify, or cure, their signature. There is no cure period for missing signatures after Election Day. Most voters are contacted by phone to let them know there is an issue that must be corrected before their ballot is counted. Letters, and emails are also used to reach out to the voters. The deadline for curing ballots was November 16th. Thousands of voters were contacted to cure their ballots.
HOW ARE PROVISIONAL BALLOTS HANDLED?
If an eligible voter does not have sufficient identification with them on Election Day, they may cast a conditional provisional ballot. Statute also allows voters five business days to show sufficient identification to county election officials for these ballots to be counted. Voters can check the status of their provisional ballot at: https://azsos.gov/elections/voters/voting-elections/provisional-balloting
Voters can check the status of a ballot at the Your Voter Info tab on Arizona.Vote. If it shows “Accepted,” the ballot was verified and counted. If it shows “Rejected,” there was an issue with the ballot that was not resolved by the deadline.
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MESSAGING
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URGE SENATORS KELLY AND SINEMA TO PASS 2 BILLS
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REFORM OF THE ELECTORAL COUNT ACT
It would fill in gaps for the 2024 Presidential election certification that Trump-ites tried to exploit on Jan. 6, 2021. It could pass with the bare minimum votes needed.
2.THE ADD-ON TO THE GOVERNMENT SPENDING BILL
Hopefully this bill will extend through the fiscal year ending on September 30, 2023.It must pass by December 16 to keep the government from shutting down.
The Add-on is a request for $9 billion for COVID-19 operations, nearly $38 billion in additional relief for Ukraine and emergency aid for community natural disaster relief.It is unclear if there are enough GOP votes in the Senate to avoid defeat by filibustering
THANK SENATORS KELLY AND SINEMA FOR SUPPORTING THE PASSAGE OF THE RESPECT FOR MARRIAGE ACT.
This Act affirms (codifies) that same sex marriage is settled law and all Americans be treated the same. It passed in the Senate with a 61-to-36 vote and goes to the House for final approval. This one of the final major legislations Democrats will pass before the Republicans take over the House in January.
CONTACT:
Senator Mark Kelly
https://www.kelly.senate.gov/contact/contact-form/
(202)-224-2235)
Senator Kirsten Sinema
https: //www.sinema.senate.gov/contact-kyrsten
(202)-224-44521
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THANKFUL FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP
Terry Goddard has spent his career fighting to expand citizen involvement in their government. As the ‘father’ of the district system in Phoenix, as a Mayor dedicated to opening the planning process to citizen input with the Phoenix Futures Forum and empowering Village Planning Committees, and as the Arizona Attorney General promoting consumer and civil rights and broad-based participation programs like Senior Sleuths and AG advisory groups, Terry kept working to increase opportunities for citizens to shape their community’s future. Terry fought to get the Stop Dark Money initiative on the ballot and approved by Arizona voters. He believes secret, dark money in politics is a potent threat to our democracy.
Nancy Pelosi is stepping down from her leadership role as Speaker of the House after serving in the House for 19 years. She was the first woman to hold this role, serving during four Presidencies. She shepherded important legislation through Congress, such as Obamacare, the COVID Relief package, and several health care assistance bills. Pelosi has also overseen negotiations on dozens of bipartisan bills throughout her years as Speaker and as House Minority Leader. She will remain in Congress representing her constituency in California.
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CHECK OUT THE BMD&F WEBSITE
If you haven’t looked recently, BMD&F has a new website:
www.blackmountaindems.com
Detailed information on election results, issues and the path forward.
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Note: The Black Mountain Dems and Friends won’t be having a
monthly meeting in December. See you on January 21st.
Saturday January 21, 2023 BMD&F Meeting Desert Foothill Library
10:15 AM
Jeanne Casteen – Secular Arizona
Tuesday February 7, 2023 Roundtable Local Jonny’s
9:00 AM
*Saturday February 25, 2023 BMD&F Meeting Desert Foothills Library
10:15 AM
(*The February Monthly meeting is moved to the fourth Saturday, February 25) for this month only)
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ADDITIONAL READING
How Elections Work in Arizona
Click Here
Young Arizona Voters Delivered Wins for Dems in 2022
Click Here
The Most Powerful Woman in American Politics Ever by Jennifer Rubin
Click
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Email: Black Mountain Dems and Friends
blackmountaindems.com
Website: Black Mountain Dems and Friends Website
blackmountaindems.com
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