In a new TV spot for her reelection campaign, Sen. Martha McSally says, “Of course I will always protect those with preexisting conditions. Always.”
But one prominent fact-checking organization doesn’t think her record supports the claim.
PolitiFact.com, the nonprofit fact-checking site operated by the Poynter Institute, recently rated McSally’s June 22 ad as “false,” the second-worst rating on its Truth-O-Meter.
“Nothing in her voting record, which tracks closely with the Republican repeal-and-replace philosophy, supports this claim,” writes PolitiFact correspondent Shefali Luthra. “Meanwhile, the legislation her campaign cited to justify her stance falls short in terms of meaningfully protecting Americans with preexisting medical conditions.”
This marked the seventh time PolitiFact has scrutinized one of McSally’s statements, and her record so far from the group is two rates of “false,” four of “mostly false” and one of “half true.”
The site has yet to train its gaze on McSally’s Democratic challenger, Mark Kelly, since he entered the race, but three previous checks of statements he made as a gun-control advocate in 2015 and 2013 earned him a “half true” and two ratings of “true.”
Deadline to register near; poll worker jobs pay $155
PSA: The deadline to register to vote in the upcoming primary election is just days away.
Only those who register by midnight Monday, July 6, can cast a vote in the Aug. 4 primary. On the ballot are a number of local, state and federal races. A U.S. Senate seat and the county attorney job are up for grabs.
In Arizona, primaries are open, meaning those who are not registered Democrat or Republican can cast their vote.
The Recorder’s Office said it will keep its locations downtown, 240 N. Stone, first floor, and on the city’s east side, 6920 E. Broadway, Suite D, open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday to accommodate last-minute registration.
Those hoping to register online can do so at ServiceArizona.com, or by filling out a form at the Recorder’s Office, post office or library and mailing it back dated Monday. Locals can check their registrations at https://www.recorder.pima.gov/VoterStats/VoterInfo.
Voters can contact the Recorder’s Office with questions at 520-724-4330.
For those thinking to participate in another way, the county is seeking about 150-180 poll workers to aid on election day. Those who participate will be paid at least $155 for their service.
Those interested can contact Pima County Elections at 724-6830, or apply online (https://azsos.gov/pollworker).
Familiar foe targets Invest in Ed initiative
In 2018, Jaime Molera signed up to chair the campaign against that year’s Invest in Ed initiative. It didn’t take much work for Molera, a former state superintendent of public instruction who is on the board of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The chamber, which spent more than $900,000 to defeat the initiative, won a lawsuit to have it thrown off the ballot in August that year.
Now Molera is reprising his role as the chamber’s frontman in the fight against an initiative intended to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for education. It would do so by imposing a 3.5% surcharge on the taxes of those with individual incomes over $250,000 per year or $500,000 per year for those married filing jointly. The initiative’s backers turned in signatures on an initiative that they say has repaired the errors that got it thrown out last year.
“I was hoping this was a role I would not have to reprise in 2020, but yet again a terribly damaging tax increase could be headed to the fall ballot,” Molera said in a news release.
