Signature Verification

This page assesses the signature verification process as weak barrier to preventing election fraud.

In our assessment, we believe MC employees are doing what is expected of them to confirm the signatures on an early ballot match the signature on the voter's registration record. The MC employees are not deviating from organizational norms. That said, the governance practices hindering the employees from effectively detecting fraud.

Some background information is necessary to understand why MC employees cannot adequately detect fraud.

Background

Arizona Law for Elections

Title 16 of the Arizona Revised Statutes governs elections, voter qualifications, political parties, campaign finance, and related electoral procedures in Arizona. This statute states what must be done. The statute does not contain enough detail to explain how it is done.

For those that familiar with corporate operations, statutes would be equivalent to policy statements and procedures would explain how policies are fulfilled.

Arizona State Procedures for Elections

Arizona's Secretary of State (SOS) is responsible for ensuring elections are implemented fairly and consistent statewide, which gets complicated because elections are implemented at the county level. Arizona SOS creates the Arizona Election Procedures Manual (EPM) to explain how each county is required to fulfill their duties to implement election services.

Did you Forget Maricopa County Procedures for Elections?

No. The blank space underneath the title was made to emphasis a point. There aren't any Maricopa County Procedures posted on the MC Elections Department website.

The Arizona SOS created and publicly posted the Arizona Elections Manual to explain how Arizona Counties are required to implement election services at the county level. Apparently, MC Elections department does not believe procedures are necessary to implement state procedures at the voting centers OR, even worse, MC Elections department has Election Procedures for the voting centers but does not want to reveal the content of those procedures to the public.

The "OR" statement with regard to the reason for the lack of publicly post MC Election Procedures presents a governance dilemma. The effectiveness of internal controls for election-related activities is compromised if there are no procedures for the voting centers. Conversely, ethical questions arise if the MC Elections Department management does not want the procedures to be shared with its citizens if the Voting Center election procedures actually exist. The AZ SOS is publicly sharing their election procedures. If the County has procedures for their voting centers, why do they believe this information should be treated as confidential?

Nondisclosure of the MC Election procedures inhibit the public's ability to hold the county accountable to their own standards. Citizens can't compare anomalous events observed in the MC Voting Centers to a MC elections procedure if none is available to the public.

Potential Governance Gaps:

• Principle 1 - Demonstrate Commitment to Integrity and Ethical Values
  • Attribute(s): 1.04,
• Principle 2 - Exercise Oversight Responsibility
  • Attribute(s): 2.09
• Principle 3 - Establish Structure, Responsibility, and Authority
  • Attribute(s): 3.09, 3.10, 3.11, 3,12

Importance

Signature verification

Signature Verification Effectiveness Review

• Differences between wet and digital signatures