A conservative group has announced plans to place trained observers with cameras around various ballot drop boxes across Arizona leading up to the presidential election.
Matt Schlapp, chairman of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), outlined the group’s plans in a letter to Arizona state officials, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Attorney General Kris Mayes.
“The purpose of this letter is not to relitigate the 2020 elections. Rather, we hope to work with you to reduce voter concerns regarding election fraud and the fair and transparent administration of elections,” Shlapp said.
“The goal is to establish standards for drop box observation that our organization, as well as any other interested parties on the right or left, can rely upon and reassure the public in Arizona that drop boxes are not being fraudulently used,” he continued.
“Failure to do so risks that the results of the November elections will be questioned by those who did not support the winning candidate.”
Shlapp said that in order to “address and help mitigate that skepticism,” the group plans to place monitors near a selection of drop boxes in select counties across the state.
“The purpose of doing so is to encourage—not discourage-voting. We are also considering using open-source information to identify those who are not eligible to vote.”
In December 2023, a grand jury in Arizona indicted two county supervisors for their refusal to certify the state’s 2022 election results before the proper deadline.
Cochise County Supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd were charged with “interference with an election officer and conspiracy.”
Both charges come as Class 5 felonies, which carry six months to two and a half years of prison time.
According to state law, counties must certify canvasses within 20 days of an election, and both Croby and Judd had been accused of conspiring with one another to illegally interfere with the election.
“The repeated attempts to undermine our democracy are unacceptable,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said.
“I took an oath to uphold the rule of law, and my office will continue to enforce Arizona’s election laws and support our election officials as they carry out the duties and responsibilities of their offices.”
