Two Easy Arizona Election Reforms

This is a letter published by the Arizona Republic in 2016. It is part of my search for sanity in Arizona.

After decades in politics and government, I know that simple solutions to problems are typically ignored, dismissed or sent off to die in “study committees.” But I’ll take the risk. Whether the result of conspiracy or stupidity, the underlying problem is the same: people going to vote at specific locations that change with virtually every election. So here’s my plan:

1) Make the 30-day “Early Voting” by mail automatic so registered voters do not have to ask permission of the government to get and return their ballots in the mail. Turn it around: allow people to opt-out of mail-in balloting.

2) For voters who want to cast their ballot in person, instead of voting locations that constantly change, let’s contract with Walgreens and CVS so people can drop off their “early ballots” at one of the store locations.  Those locations don’t change as frequently and, frankly, I trust the folks who are filling my prescriptions a lot more than the current system.