In an interview with KTAR’s The Arizona Political Podcast with Jim Sharpe, Arizona Secretary of State Republican Nominee Alex Kolodin waffled when asked about voting for HCR2016, a concurrent resolution that could have, if voters supported in at the ballot box, eliminated countywide voting centers and on-site early voting locations, saying:
“It’s hard for me to hear a bill number and remember. I would say I’ve definitely voted in favor of giving the voters the choice as to whether they want to go to a precinct voting system which would have a lot more polling places…”
When pressed by Sharpe, when recounting his personal experience of having the convenience of being able to vote at a countywide voting center, Kolodin evaded by attacking Adrian Fontes and his interpretation of the role of Secretary of State, saying:
“He (Fontes) should be making those kinds of decisions and not the voters or local communities.”
After that response, Sharpe had to remind Kolodin and the audience that it is the counties that run elections, not the Secretary of State’s office.
Secretary of State Fontes wasted no time in responding to Kolodin’s burst of amnesia when not being able to recall HCR2016, a resolution Kolodin cosponsored (please click here to see the bill sponsor information on the Arizona State Legislature site), posting on social media and sharing an ad about his opponent avoiding responsibility for HCR2016.
Fontes Campaign Manager Matt Grodsky shared two responses:
The first on social media from October 3 read:
“I’ve always found Cats the musical to be pretty freaky. The idea of this guy in charge of election administration is even scarier. Kolodin has a broken relationship with the truth. Make a plan to vote for @Adrian_Fontes . Ballots start arriving in mailboxes next week.”
The second in a campaign press announcement earlier today (October 5, 2026):
“Forgetting one bill might be a mistake. Forgetting a whole record of trying to kill vote-by-mail, early voting, and vote centers is a strategy. Kolodin is betting Arizona voters won’t notice. It’s an insult to the people he wants to represent.”
The Fontes Campaign then listed all the votes Kolodin took to restrict access to the ballot box including:
- HB2099 (2025): Requires precinct-only voting, caps precincts at 1,500 voters, bans electronic voting devices.
- HB2100 (2025): Requires Election Day in-person precinct voting, mandates hand counting of all ballots.
- HB2101 (2025): Requires in-person Election Day voting at assigned precinct unless eligible for absentee.
- HB2102 (2025): Repeals on-site early voting and on-request early ballots for UOCAVA and protected voters.
- HB2104 (2025): Requires a printed affidavit with absentee ballots.
- HB2304 (2025): Bans countywide voting centers.
- HB2307 (2025): Requires hand counting, bans tabulating machines.
- HCR2016 (2026): Would have ended vote centers and on-site early voting.
Voters have to ask this question about Kolodin and his evasivness regarding Sharpe’s questioning about HCR2016.
Is he lying?
Is he just stupid and obtuse and not able to digest policy minutiae?
Is he lazy and does not bother to read the bills he co-sponsors?
Is he starting to suffer from dementia and he honestly can not remember anything about HCR2016?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, that alone should demonstrate that Alex Kolodin is not fit to serve as Secretary of State and should disqualify him from voter support.
Discover more from Blog for Arizona
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
He’s being redundant – ” lying, stupid, etc.” are all covered under the term “MAGA”.
“Lying, Stupid, Lazy, or Has Dementia”…
So, just regular KTAR programming.