Democrats and Republicans alike are scrambling to shore up any votes they can to either put their candidates over the top in close races or force a recount.
The process, called curing votes, is nothing more than contacting voters whose ballot has a problem to ensure their votes are registered in their respective jurisdictions. The parties don’t register the votes but rather convince voters in person or via phone to follow up with their counties to rectify any potential hang-up.
“Kathy Hoffman’s campaign is going to fight until every last ballot is counted,” tweeted Jimmy Atwood, public information officer with state Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman. “This election is not over folks. We need to fight.”
The incumbent Democrat is in a tight race for reelection against Republican Tom Horne, who held Hoffman’s office from 2003 to 2011.
As of Wednesday morning, Horne led Hoffman by 8,576 votes.
She and other Democrats are canvassing today until the 5 p.m. deadline to cure ballots.
Republicans are following suit.
“Please make sure every friend, family member, and of course, YOU check your ballot status and then call the county for corrections,” said Tyler Bowyer of the GOP-aligned Turning Point PAC. “There are thousands of ballots that need to be ‘cured’ so your vote counts.”
Boyer pointed to a similar effort by the Arizona Republican Party to muster volunteers to aid in door-to-door curing efforts.
The GOP is hoping to not only push congressional candidates out of recount territory but to boost the numbers of statewide candidates who might be close to a victory or a recount.
In the race for Arizona Attorney General, Democrat Kris Mayes leads Republican Abe Hamadeh by only 771 votes as of Wednesday morning, all but guaranteeing a recount under Arizona’s new law that triggers the new count should a race be decided by less than .5% of those who voted in the race.
Similar efforts are underway in California, Colorado, and Washington state, where U.S. House of Representative seats are still close and could mean crucial seat wins for either party.
Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
