Informing Democracy Statement on Resignation of Pinal County Election Director in AZ

Today, following the resignation of the Pinal County Elections Director over accusations of a “toxic” and highly partisan environment fostered by the Board of Supervisors, Informing Democracy Executive Director Jenna Lowenstein issued the following statement:

"There is no place for politics in election administration. It is not okay that those standing up for democracy are being driven out by extremists who are politicizing government offices. That is terrible for our democracy, and why we all have a responsibility to expose officials who are abusing their positions to undermine our elections.”

Ahead of last year’s midterm elections, Informing Democracy published a report providing a detailed look at the vote counting and certification processes in Arizona, including identifying potential vulnerabilities. The report identified Pinal County’s Board of Supervisors as a potential threat because its members showed sympathy towards or acted on efforts to subvert elections.

Earlier this year, Informing Democracy also released a report identifying several members of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors as exhibiting anti-democratic tendencies, including Kevin Cavanaugh and Jeff Serdy. In fact, Serdy even encouraged Arizona state legislators to change the law to allow supervisors to vote against certifying the elections they oversee.