Arizona Republican introduced a bill to let state legislature overturn results in a presidential election
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- An Arizona Republican introduced a bill that would let the state legislature decide presidential elections.
- Rep. Shawnna Bolick's legislation would allow lawmakers to overturn the secretary of state's certification of an election result.
- Bolick, who was reelected in November, promoted false claims about the 2020 election.
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A top Arizona Republican who promoted a debunked conspiracy theory about the 2020 election has introduced a bill that would allow legislators override the certification of the state's top elections official and effectively overturn the results of a future presidential election.
Rep. Shawnna Bolick, a Phoenix-area Republican, does not dispute her own reelection in November. But after Donald Trump lost his bid for another term, she sought to block electors from casting their votes for the winner, President Joe Biden, despite the election having already been certified by Arizona's Secretary of State.
Bolick also promoted "Sharpiegate," the false conspiracy theory that ballots were invalidated because poll workers gave Republican voters permanent markers instead of ballpoint pens.
Now the lawmaker, who chairs the Ways & Means Committee in the state house, is seeking to provide the legislature - narrowly controlled by Republicans - the formal power to revoke the certified results of a presidential election.
In particular, HB 2720 states that the legislature "may revoke the secretary of state's issuance or certification of a presidential elector's certificate of election." Notably, the bill would not grant the lawmakers the power to overturn the result of elections for the legislature itself.
Laurie Roberts, a columnist for the Arizona Republic, noted the bill would "allow the legislature to ignore the state's presidential election results and choose its own winner right up until the moment a president-elect steps up to the podium and puts his hand on the Bible."
Ironically, the sponsor of the legislation is not herself known for strict adherence to electoral regulations.
In 2020, Arizona's Supreme Court ruled that Bolick herself violated state law when she failed to disclose her actual home address in a filing with election officials.
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