PHOENIX β Secretary of State Michele Reagan wonβt cancel next weekβs special election even though her office failed to mail out on time more than 200,000 pamphlets with details of whatβs on the ballot.
The law about when voters need to get the brochures was broken, Reaganβs spokesman Matt Roberts conceded. And while saying the fault lies with an outside company that made up mailing lists, Roberts acknowledged the foul-up is Reaganβs responsibility.
But Roberts rejected the contention by attorney Tom Ryan that her failure is fatal and the election for propositions 123 and 124 cannot take place as scheduled on Tuesday.
βThereβs nothing in statute that weβre finding that would allow this office to not allow the election itself to move forward,β Roberts said.
Ryan is not relying on Reagan to act. He separately filed a complaint with Attorney General Mark Brnovich contending that Reaganβs failure to strictly comply with election laws β including the deadline for mailing the pamphlets β voids the entire vote. He wants Brnovich to order the election postponed, putting the two issues either on the Aug. 30 primary ballot or holding them until the Nov. 8 general election.
There was no immediate comment from Brnovich.
The facts are not in dispute.
Arizona law requires Reagan to mail a copy of the publicity pamphlet to every household with a registered voter. It says they have to be mailed out in time to be delivered before voters get their early ballots.
That would have meant having the pamphlets in homes by April 20.
The pamphlets are considered important because they contain an explanation of the ballot measures. In this case, that includes Proposition 123 to tap state trust land proceeds to settle a lawsuit against the state by schools, and Proposition 124, which allows the state to make changes to cost-of-living increases in the pensions of police and firefighters.
That pamphlet also contains arguments submitted by supporters and opponents of ballot measures.
Roberts said about 200,000 of the 1.9 million pamphlets did not go out on time, largely to houses with multiple registered voters who get early ballots. That affects 400,000 would-be voters.
βWe have identified the problem,β he said Tuesday. βWe have alleviated some of those concerns by sending out the extra 200,000 publicity pamphlets.β
Ryan acknowledged he is a foe of Proposition 123, echoing the comments of Treasurer Jeff DeWit that the state has enough money to settle the lawsuit and increase aid to schools without tapping the trust account. But he denied thatβs why he is trying to delay the vote, pointing out that also would affect Proposition 124, which he does support.
Just delaying the election, though, would have fiscal implications for schools.
Lawmakers scheduled the special election May 17 to have election results before the budget year ends on June 30. If the measure is approved, schools would get an immediate $224 million infusion.
But Ryan said supporters of the measure should not be upset with him for raising the issue.
