Gina Swoboda, director of the Voter Reference Foundation, joined the Grand Canyon Times Podcast to discuss election integrity in Arizona and throughout the country.
Headquartered in Phoenix, the Voter Reference Foundation is a national non-profit foundation dedicated to ensuring free and fair elections in the United States.
Swoboda also is the Chief Elections Policy Officer of Restoration of America, a principal at Agrippa Consulting Group, LLC, and the Senior Policy Advisor to the Arizona State Senate Committee on Elections. An experienced elections officer, Swoboda previously served in the Arizona Secretary of State’s office under two administrations.
She is an alumnus of Arizona State University (ASU, having graduated Magna Cum Laude, and is currently a grad student at ASU pursuing her master's degree in political psychology.
Following is a summary of this episode:
Election Integrity:Gina emphasizes the importance of accurate voter lists for ensuring the integrity of elections.
She mentions issues in Maricopa County during the 2022 elections, including long wait times and problems with the vote center model.
Vote Center Model:Maricopa County moved to a vote center model in 2020, which allows any resident of the county to vote at any location. This model relies on ballot-on-demand printers, which have been problematic.Gina criticizes the ballot-on-demand printer model, noting that it failed to produce accurate ballots in several instances.
Election Day Issues:Gina highlights the challenges faced during the 2022 elections in Maricopa County, including record in-person turnout and issues with ballot-on-demand printers.She expresses concern that Maricopa County plans to continue using this model, which she believes will lead to further issues in future elections.
Mail-In Voting:Gina discusses the push for mail-in voting and the challenges associated with it. She mentions that many countries in the EU and Europe have banned mail-in voting due to concerns about fraud.
Recommendations:Gina advocates for precinct or ward-based voting with pre-ordered, preprinted paper ballots. She also supports on-site tabulation and believes that absentee ballots should be reserved for those with valid excuses.
Public Oversight:Gina encourages the public to oversee voter lists to ensure their accuracy. She mentions the National Voter Registration Act, which allows the public to oversee the voter list.Gina Swoboda's insights provide a detailed perspective on the challenges and potential solutions related to election integrity and the voting process, especially in Maricopa County.
