Gov. Katie Hobbs created a bipartisan task force earlier this year to clarify election laws. So far, it’s only met behind closed doors.
The meetings are closed to the public on orders from Hobbs.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said he takes no issue with the lack of transparency.
“While I’m a big fan of transparency almost all the time,” Fontes said, “sometimes you’ve just got to have those hardscrabble discussions among folks when you’re talking about what you think might or might not get through the Legislature and why.”
Fontes said privacy has been beneficial, and for now, no legislative decisions are being made.
“It’s not just a question of ‘trust us,’” Fontes said. “It’s a question of ‘Where are we at in the process?’ We’re very very early in this.”
Helen Purcell, a Republican who served as Maricopa County recorder for 28 years, serves as vice chair of the task force.
“That was a decision by the governor's office,” Purcell said. “We've been doing our work and we've done it in, in working groups. A lot of we've not met in person. We're meeting by Zoom.”
Purcell was asked if the meetings would ever be opened to the public.
“Could be,” she said. “I don’t know at this point.”
Purcell said the committee has moved forward so far with 20 proposals to change elections.
Some will require the Legislature to step in, and other changes won’t need to change or create new laws. Many suggestions made by the task force would have to be adopted by the Legislature in 2024.
