The EC and various committees are working hard getting the 2024 Voter Action Plan detailed out and ready for presentation at the Dec. 9 meeting. This is fine tuning the "Drive Voter Turnout" plank of the 2-year Strategic Plan.

We have a great 12/9 meeting in the works:

• limited Officer & Committee reports
• the Heartland Singers with some Christmas Carols
• Hot BRUNCH
• exciting speakers who will be announced in the Call to Meeting, scheduled for email distribution 11/26
• 50/50 raffle
• wear your green and RED!! Tinsel gets extra points!

The Dec. 9th meeting is a Mandatory meeting (rather than a Special meeting). The closed portion which only PCs and Chair invited special guests may attend will be from 9-10am. Then the meeting will be open to spouses and other pre-registered guests beginning at 10am, so they can hear our speakers and join in holiday socializing.

Please invite a friend or neighbor who might want to become a PC as your guest!

Please contact me directly to pre-register guests you would like to invite. To be clear: ALL guests MUST be pre-registered with me at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. Guests who are NOT applicant/waiting PCs must pay the $10 meeting fee to help cover venue and brunch.

-Jana countychair@ms.yavgop.org

Arizona’s election processes are under attack!

We’ve told you what’s wrong with Ranked Choice Voting in past Stampede editions. Rep Austin Smith sponsored HCR 2033 that prohibits any election law in Arizona that is contrary to the direct primary election in the Arizona state constitution. That will be on the ballot in 2024.

 City of Prescott using polling platform Polco to participate in the National Community Survey (NCS)

The City of Prescott has contracted with polling platform Polco to participate in the National Community Survey (NCS), a community-wide survey designed to identify clear priorities for use in strategic planning and budget setting.

“There will be an open survey, available on the city’s website, with a link active starting on Monday, Nov. 6,” stated an Oct. 31 news release from the city. “Go to https://www.prescott-az.gov/, and look for the link on the homepage, or go directly to https://participateprescott.com/ to learn more and take the survey beginning Nov. 6.”

Earlier this month, 3,000 citizens were randomly selected to receive a mailed survey. The mail survey will be open for response through Nov. 21. The news release notes that those residents who received a mailed survey should complete that one, while other residents can complete the survey online.

“If you did not receive a mailed survey, or you were not the person to respond to the survey in your household, please complete the online survey,” the news release adds.

Polco is an online community engagement polling platform that is conducting the NCS. Polco launches surveys and analyzes the data, providing local governments and other public sector leaders with important information needed to make decisions within the community. Hundreds of organizations nationwide use Polco for strategic planning, budgeting, and empowering resident voices, says the news release.

The Polco survey is separate from other surveys the city is currently conducting, including one on the General Plan update and another on the Highway 89 improvements.

Arizona GOP Spars with Fontes, Fillmore Over New Party Filing

The Arizona Republican Party is crying foul over the way Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has sought to ratify a proposed Patriot Party as the newest political party in Arizona. Contrary to the way the Secretary of State’s office handled the filing by the No Labels Party, the recent filing by the Patriot Party was handled in secret, with none of the major parties notified or allowed to observe the process.

Moreover, copies of the petitions later provided to the Republican Party were incomplete and prevented the AZGOP from being able to verify the nearly 38,000 signatures filed by John Fillmore, the new head of the Arizona Patriot Party.



County Recorder Yavapai PC Meeting

PC Education - Election and Voting

Yavapai County Elections Department Released a Bid for an Incoming Mail Ballot Envelope Sorter

Why They Are Bidding This bid is necessary because of the new law SB1411, which goes into effect on January 1, 2024. This law requires the County to sort and scan ballot affidavit envelopes to alert voters their ballot has been received. The first major election of 2024 is the Presidential Preference Election on March 19 and the sorter must be in place for that election.

Formerly, the voter could see when their ballot was accepted (meaning processed at the County’s Fair Street location, but the ballot not tabulated) but that could take days for signature verification, especially if there was a problem with the signature. The voting history shows when the ballot is tabulated and the voting method used (mail-in, early in person, election day).

How It Works The sorter will have ballot software that scans the barcode on the affidavit envelope, produces a list of received ballots, sends that information to the AVID voter database. Voters can see that their mail-in ballot was received and accepted by going to the Secretary of State’s website at https://my.arizona.vote/portallist.aspx and viewing their ballot status and voting history. 

Other Benefits The weight of the envelopes is also checked, and questionable ones are put aside for further review. Affidavit signatures are scanned, and a digital image is created in the voter’s profile in the AVID voter database. Ballots in their envelopes are put into batches for signature verification by County employees. The sorter does not remove ballots from their envelopes and voters are notified their ballot has been received, not counted. 

PC Orientation Classes

PC Orientation times

•  12/6 3:30 -5:30 pm YavGOP Office, 112B E Union St., Prescott

Calling all PCs who have not attended a PC orientation, or who want a refresher course. You must be elected, appointed, or turned in your PC Application to attend, and you must be pre-registered.  

RSVP required: Send email to YavGOPEducationEvent@yahoo.com, make the subject line: (Date you want to attend) PC Orientation

NOTE: Classes are subject to cancellation without notice if no one signs up.  

Basin 237 November follow-up

Thanks to those who attended the November 15th Basin 237 monthly PC meeting. We had a fairly large crowd of attendees compared to some past PC meetings we've had. I want to offer a special thanks to all the Paulden PC folks who attended. We'll have a future meeting more directly related to Paulden interests. Suggestions are welcomed.

Current Chino Valley Town Council member and Mayoral Candidate, Tom Armstrong, was our guest speaker. He was very informative as to how city government works and what his vision is if elected mayor. Tom retired from the Coast Guard after serving for 30 years so he's a no-nonsense guy who clearly isn't versed in "political speak", which is a huge PLUS in my view.

December 8, 2023, Starting 5pm at the YavGOP Office

Contact Anne Roper to volunteer or donate cookies

Editorial Disclaimer

Articles contained this publication are from our volunteers and members; they are neither legal interpretations not statements of the Yavapai County Republican Committee. The content expressed is their own.

Group files for recall seeking to oust Prescott Mayor Phil Goode

November 27, 2023

Just one day before Prescott Mayor Phil Goode is set to be sworn into office for his second two-year term as mayor, four residents with deep Prescott roots filed paperwork at City Hall to begin the process for an election seeking to recall Goode.

On Monday afternoon, Nov. 27, a group consisting of local businessman Grant Quezada, Prescott native and conservation advocate Rebecca Ruffner, Prescott native and long-time downtown businessman Greg Raskin, and long-time resident and current Prescott Unified School District (PUSD) Vice President Stan Goligoski filed an application at Prescott City Hall, officially beginning the process for a recall election.

The petition lists Goligoski as the candidate to run against Goode in the recall.

In order to get the matter on a city ballot, the group must collect at least 3,248 signatures from registered Prescott voters by March 26, 2024, according to information from Prescott City Clerk Sarah Siep, who accepted the paperwork from the group Monday afternoon.

Arizona AG Threatens Legal Action Against Officials Who Hand-Count Ballots in 2024 Election

The Arizona election in 2022 is still having negative consequences for election security in the Sun Belt state.

The Arizona Attorney General, Kris Mayes, has threatened legal action against Mojave County officials if they dare to hand-count ballots in the 2024 election.+

“As Arizona’s chief law enforcement officer, I have an obligation to warn you that the legal consequences would be serious,” AG Mayes warns.

Arizona's Mohave County Board of Supervisors to Vote to HAND COUNT Ballots in 2024

The Mohave County Board of Supervisors in Arizona is scheduled to vote today on an agenda item to, “approve and direct the Mohave County Elections Department to carry out hand tabulation of ballots for the 2024 elections.” 

The agenda item packet includes a letter from Kari Lake attorney Bryan Blehm vowing to defend the decision and cover all legal expenses, a letter from Arizona State Senator Sonny Borrelli, and a notification that the County has received “written commitment” covering the volunteers required to carry this out.

Following Investigations by Tether, OKX, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Tether Voluntarily Freezes 225M in Stolen USDT Linked to International Crime Syndicate

by Tether | Nov 20 2023

20 November 2023 — Tether, the largest company in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, and leading global crypto exchange and Web3 technology company OKX, today announced that they have assisted the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in an investigation that led to Tether proactively and voluntarily freezing approximately 225 million in USDT tokens in external self-custodied wallets linked to an international human trafficking syndicate in Southeast Asia responsible for a global “pig butchering” romance scam. 

The joint investigation was conducted using tools from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, and the action by Tether represents the largest-ever freeze of USDT in history.

The DOJ is Preparing for ‘Surge’ of Covid Vaccine Injury Lawsuits

By Kyle Becker - November 13, 2023

The Justice department is quietly preparing for a surge of lawsuits from those who are claiming injury from the Covid-19 vaccines. The New York Post, in a column authored by Miranda Devine, shared a fascinating nugget that is highly suggestive that the Biden DOJ knows a wave of such lawsuits are coming.

Devine points to a new jobs ad that indicates the Biden administration is searching for “eight new attorneys to defend the federal government in vaccine injury cases. The office is currently expanding to address workload created by an increase in cases filed under the Vaccine Act,” says the ad posted by the Torts Branch of the DOJ on the USAJobs website. The jobs listing was also posted on LinkedIn.

Event Calendar

To view the YavGOP calendar and listed events -click the button. To add an event, please email calendar@ms.yavgop.org.

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