“PCs” (precinct committee people) are the volunteer backbone of the political parties. They’re the people who knock on your door to distribute election information and literature, circulate petitions, and register people to vote.
Last Thursday, March 3, both Houses of the Arizona Legislature passed HB2839, an election bill dealing with petition signature changes due to redistricting. Legislators thought the bill was procedural and not a big deal. Republican PCs disagreed.
The bill was signed into law by Governor Doug Ducey the same day in order to get the new signature requirements into law before petitions were submitted to the Secretary of State’s office on Monday.
Social media and Republican members’ phones blew up over the weekend over HB2839. Section 4 related to “precinct committemen” waives the election for PCs and sets up a PC appointment system in which much of the power lies with the county parties. Republican PCs want to go through the election process and be elected, not appointed. [Watch the video for background and details on why this matters.]
Today, March 8, there were tense committee meetings in both the House and the Senate. Debate and public testimony was heard on the bills that have been proposed to fix HB2839.
Stay tuned for the next chapter in this saga.
This video was recorded on March 8, 2022. All of my video updates are available on YouTube and Facebook.