Secretary of State Katie Hobbs continues focus on ‘fair, accurate, and secure’ elections one year after taking office

PHOENIX – Since Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’ Inauguration one year ago, she has focused on building upon services that worked and rebuilding processes that were broken.

“From the start, we quickly realized there were a lot of challenges that needed to be addressed immediately. Over the course of the last year, we have developed a solid foundation for the Office of the Secretary of State to restore excellent service to people across the state, while preparing for what promises to be a historic election year. Our commitment for 2020 is to ensure elections are fair, accurate, and secure,” Hobbs said. “People should expect this office to provide trusted, accessible, and innovative, services.”

The purview of the Secretary of State’s Office is broad. Election administration, the State Library, Archives and Public Records, the Arizona Capitol Museum, Business Services, Administrative Rules, and the Address Confidentiality Program all fall under the umbrella of the office.

“Some things were working well, to the credit of the many hardworking, professional staff that have been here for years,” she said. “It is important to recognize the dedication and professionalism of career staff who are rarely acknowledged, and ensure they are being fairly compensated, as well as provide a culture of support and excellence. We reorganized personnel, services, and responsibilities to ensure the office runs smoothly and is fiscally responsible.”

Here are some of the highlights from the Secretary of State’s Office in 2019:

Election Security

• Successfully updated the Elections Procedures Manual for the first time since 2014 by collaborating with county recorders and election directors. This manual carries the force of law and helps keep election practices consistent and efficient throughout the state
• Replaced the statewide voter registration database with the more secure and efficient Arizona Voter Information Database
• Launched the Arizona Voter Information Portal so voters in Arizona have an easy, secure site for checking voter registration status, requesting an early ballot, finding voting locations, and verifying ballot status
• Successfully partnered with the Governor’s Office to participate in a statewide, first of its kind bipartisan election cybersecurity policy academy hosted by the National Governors Association
• Hosted a statewide election tabletop exercise and crisis management training for election officials from all 15 counties
• Trained, certified, or recertified 441 election officials in Arizona, about 15% more than in the previous election cycle
• Distributed previously withheld 2018 Help America Vote Act grants to the counties, providing much needed funding to increase election security ahead of the 2020 Elections
• Produced and distributed an election cybersecurity best practices guide for candidates and campaigns across the state
• Formally withdrew from the problematic Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck program
• Continued participation in the Electronic Registration Information Center to assist in maintaining the accuracy of the state’s voter registration rolls

Government Accountability

• Assessed the actual staffing needs to better meet the office’s statutory obligations and proposed a realistic, responsible budget to address those needs
• Completed an assessment of staff salaries across the entire department and corrected several instances of staff, particularly women and people of color, being underpaid relative to counterparts in other divisions
• Completed nearly 180,000 business services filings including trademarks, tradenames, notary applications and apostilles
• Increased government transparency by adding nearly 20,000 records to the state archives
• Established a Digital Records Repository Pilot Project in partnership with county superior courts, starting with Maricopa County Superior Court
• Consolidated and simplified thousands of records retention schedules for government agencies, counties, and municipalities across the state

Public Outreach

• Assembled a community-based advisory committee to inform strategies for increasing voter outreach and participation
• Rebuilt partnerships with tribal, county, and local election officials and administrators and promoted collaboration to increase election security
• Distributed nearly $1.4 million to support libraries across the state
• Doubled the number of people who participated in the Arizona Talking Book Library’s summer reading program
• Reviewed and proposed an enhanced customer experience in the Reading Room shared by the Archives and Research Library at the Polly Rosenbaum History and Archives Building
• Hosted more than 78,000 visitors and opened 12 new exhibits at the Arizona Capitol Museum
• Added 14 new partner collections to the Arizona Memory Project helping to preserve and promote the state’s unique history
• Digitized more than 100,000 pages of historic Arizona newspapers for the National Digital Newspaper Project
• Increased the number of families enrolled in the Address Confidentiality Program, which helps protect the location of survivors of domestic violence, by about 20% to nearly 700

Hobbs added that the work completed in 2019 provides a foundation to build from in 2020.

“Each division of the Secretary of State’s Office plays an integral part in providing services that preserve our history, promote engagement, and protect our future,” Hobbs said. “We will keep that momentum in 2020 across the board, as we prepare for and confront threats to our elections, continue to improve efficiency and transparency within government, and develop and maintain relationships across partisan divides.”

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