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Arizona Attorney General’s Election Integrity Unit Launches New Complaint Form

By on July 21, 2020 0 766Views

The Office of Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich recently launched its Election Integrity Unit (EIU) webpage that includes a new online election complaint form. With the 2020 elections underway, the AGO created this webpage to provide the public with a “one-stop shop” for reporting Arizona election-related concerns.

“We must all work to preserve public confidence in the integrity of our elections by vigilantly defending ballot safeguards and common-sense voting laws,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “If anyone has reason to suspect voter fraud or manipulation of Arizona’s electoral process, we encourage the public to come forward and provide proof to our office.”

The EIU, through the AGO, is authorized under A.R.S. § 16-1021 to enforce certain violations of Arizona’s election laws. With the establishment of the EIU, the AGO is able to accept election-related complaints through the Election Complaint Form, bolstering the election integrity provisions enshrined in Arizona’s constitution.

During the 2019 legislative session, the Arizona Legislature re-appropriated funds from civil penalties obtained by the AGO for purposes of establishing the EIU.

The EIU is comprised of civil and criminal attorneys and investigators. Currently, EIU has approximately 19 active criminal and civil investigations*. Recently, a former Tucson man pleaded guilty to voting twice by mail in the 2016 General Election.

Additionally, the EIU works on elections-related litigation, opinion requests, public monies complaints, and specific elections administrative functions assigned to the office. Recent examples of election-related matters the EIU has worked on include:

Additionally, the AGO also provides an online complaint process to report allegations of the misuse of public money to influence an election and for filing election-related civil rights violation complaints.

The Arizona Constitution guarantees that “[a]ll elections shall be free and equal” and that laws shall be enacted to “secure the purity of elections and guard against abuses of the elective franchise,” Ariz. Const. Art. II, § 21, Art. VII, § 12. The AGO would like to remind the public that if an elections-related crime is in progress or a situation is escalating, they should contact their local police department immediately, followed by a report to the AGO.