/ Modified aug 23, 2019 4:42 p.m.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs on priorities ahead of 2020

Election security and access to polls are part of her focus.

After voter turnout for the 2018 midterm elections broke records in Arizona, new voter registration numbers suggest that momentum may carry into 2020. According to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office, registration increased by 50,000 between April and July, raising the total to 3.8 million voters. Arizona 360 heard from Secretary of State Katie Hobbs about her priorities ahead of the next presidential election including elections system security.

“We have been really focused on making sure we have the security measures in place to prevent tampering,” Hobbs said. “We’re working with the counties to get them some of the federal funds our office received for security enhancement.”

Hobbs also said her office is reaching out to election leaders across the state in an effort to rebuild relationships that she said had deteriorated during the previous administration.

“I don’t want to second guess the actions that the previous administration took. But as somebody observing from the outside and things that have come up since I’ve been in place, we’ve just heard the previous administration just kind of came in and laid down the law and didn’t necessarily see it as a partnership,” Hobbs said. “We’re just trying to shift that focus back to being a partnership.”

Despite being the first Democrat to hold the post in more than 20 years, Hobbs said she is not interested in allowing partisan politics shape her approach.

“The chief election officer of the state should be nonpartisan, otherwise it looks like you’re putting a thumb on the scale in terms of elections.”

Arizona 360
Arizona 360 airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m. on PBS 6 and Saturdays at 8 p.m. on PBS 6 PLUS. See more from Arizona 360.
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