Since the 2020 election, Rep. Mark Finchem has alleged widespread voter fraud, arguing in part that too many mail-in ballots went to people not living at some Arizona addresses.
If an election were held today, Finchem himself could be to blame for just such a discrepancy.
Finchem and his wife sold their home in Oro Valley on Nov. 1, Pima County records show, but as of Thursday, he remained a registered voter there, five months later. So is the woman who bought the house from him, who registered as a voter there after the purchase.
For now, they are both eligible to receive mail-in ballots there.
Arizonaβs next election is the primary scheduled for Aug. 2, and Finchem will be on the ballot as a candidate for the GOP nomination for secretary of state. If he were to win that office, he would be the stateβs top election official.
For now, though, he remains in his last year as a state representative in Legislative District 11, which runs from Oro Valley and Marana, north and west across Pinal County to the town of Maricopa. He must live in the district to be eligible to continue to represent it.
Finchem declined to discuss his residence, when contacted through Arizona House GOP spokesman Andrew Wilder, but said he is renting in the district. In fact, his most recent financial disclosure lists a different residence in Oro Valley as his home.
However, like many legislators from outside Maricopa County, Finchem apparently maintains two residences, one in the district and one near Phoenix. The Pima County Recorderβs office received notice from the U.S. Postal Service that Finchem filed a change-of-address form listing a new address in Surprise.
In Finchemβs mileage reimbursement requests, obtained by the Star through a public records request, he referred to one place in the Phoenix area and another in Oro Valley as βhome.β
Voters are not required by law to immediately change their voter registration when they move, but in most cases they should before voting in the next election. Eventually, returned mail sent to a voter registered at a previous residence can lead to cancelation of their registration, Pima County Recorderβs Office spokesman Michael Truelsen explained via email.
βOnce we start getting mail returned to us, weβll start the process to update voter information. If they donβt contact us with their new address, they go to Inactive status,β he said. βTheyβre still registered, but no more mail is sent to them until they update their address. Theyβre canceled if they donβt update in two federal election cycles.β
Finchem has for more than a year been one of Arizonaβs leading supporters of the idea that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump. His claims have not proven any flaws in the election, but they have made him a popular figure on the right wing, scoring him Trumpβs endorsement.
He also attended the Jan. 6, 2020, protest at the U.S. Capitol, though he says he left without crossing into prohibited areas and has not been charged with any crime.
He has until July 5 to change his voter registration for the primary election, or risk creating one of the anomalies that he has claimed mean so much.
Tim Steller</&h6>
Auditor clears Pima County
In 2021, the state Legislature ordered the auditor general to look into how Pima County, Maricopa County and the Arizona Secretary of State used outside grants to help run their 2020 elections.
In a report released this week, the auditor general found nothing wrong with it.
Pima County used $950,446 in grants from the Center for Tech and Civic Life primarily for hazard pay during a peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the auditor general found. Just $9,038 of the money went to another purpose β early voting sites.
State Sen. Kelly Townsend demanded the investigation into what some Republicans called βZuckerbucks.β The name derives from the fact that the grants were from the center, which received major funding from Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook.
Seven other counties received grants from the center, but the Legislature did not require an audit of those counties.
Tim Steller</&h6>
Huckelberry wants to work
The family of County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry announced this he is in βgreat healthβ after suffering serious injuries from a bicycle accident in October and wants to return to work, but his medical team is asking for more time to recover.
Huckelberry suffered a brain bleed, a punctured lung and broken ribs after he was struck by a car while riding his bike downtown on Oct. 23.
Acting County Administrator Jan Lesher has taken over Huckelberryβs duties in his absence. Itβs unclear when, or if, Huckelberry will resume his position.
βWe have good news to report on Chuckβs recovery. He is in great health and speaks often about his eagerness to return to work,β Huckelberryβs family said in a press release Wednesday. βHowever, his doctors say that, while his optimism is a plus in his recovery, he should focus on his continued dedicated work with his therapists.β
Huckelberry has been the county administrator for 28 years, a role in which he now manages a $2.1 billion budget, which includes federal COVID-19 relief funds as well as local taxpayer money, and a staff of more than 7,300 employees. His base salary is $292,000 a year.
Nicole Ludden</&h6>
Recorder follows state law
Pima County Recorder Gabriella CΓ‘zares-Kelly plans to follow a new state law on voter registration, even though it puts her and the other county recorders in an irreconcilable dilemma.
CΓ‘zares-Kelly had asked Ducey to veto the law, HB 2492, in a letter sent March 24.
βEnforcing the state law would create a federal violation and enforcing the federal law creates a state felony for election staff,β she wrote.
In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections violates the constitution. But the new law requires recorders to get evidence of citizenship anyway or risk being charged with a felony.
Lawsuits are already being prepared to challenge the law. In the meantime, CΓ‘zares-Kelly said in a new statement Wednesday: βWe will, of course, abide by the new legislation. But we will also consult with the Pima County Attorneyβs Office for guidance on interpreting the new statute.β
Tim Steller</&h6>
