Recall Pearce Update: Final petition drive this weekend, will file May 31

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Update to Arizona Elections Director Amy Bjelland can't read a statute: possible delay in Russell Pearce Recall:

If the Maricopa County Recorder's Office expeditiously verified the petition signatures and if the Governor issued the order for a recall election upon receipt of that verification instead of delaying the mandatory order for 15 days, this recall election could still occur in November.

And that is the message Citizens For a Better Arizona personally delivered to Secretary of State Ken Bennett on Wednesday. Pearce recall group urges November election – East Valley Tribune:

A group trying to recall state Senate President Russell Pearce is pressing election officials to verify petition signatures quickly to compensate for a mistake that would delay the election date.

A recall election can still occur in November, which recall backers planned on, if state and county officials don't take all the time required by law to verify signatures.

Organizers gathered in Secretary of State Ken Bennett's office Wednesday to seek assurance election officials won't drag their feet and delay the election until March.

"We just want to make sure that politics doesn't enter into this at all," said Chad Snow, chairman of Citizens for a Better Arizona.

The group plans to submit signatures May 31, the deadline to submit recall paperwork.

Bennett addressed the recall organizers and said all of his elections workers would turn to signature verification if the group submits the paperwork. They'd work as quickly as possible while ensuring their work is accurate, he said.

"We'll do everything as fast as we can," Bennett said.

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 Bennett said he won't let politics interfere with the process.

"I don't think the governor is going to play politics in this either," Bennett said. [Phttt! Riiight]

A recall would require 7,756 valid signatures from residents of the heavily Republican legislative District 18, which covers west Mesa. Backers said they plan to submit 17,553 signatures, which is one more than the number of votes Pearce got in 2010.

* * *

Also Wednesday, the group announced it's retained the law firm of Perkins & Coie, whose specialties include election law.

* * *

Wednesday's gathering in Bennett's office included several lifelong Republicans and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which Pearce is a member.

Carolyn Cooper clutched a folder with pictures of relatives in military uniforms and became upset that Pearce opponents have been called anarchists. Cooper noted Pearce once was close with J.T. Ready, an anti-immigration activist who has been photographed wearing swastikas. Pearce has since cut ties to Pearce but Cooper said that didn't matter.

"And he has the gall to call us too extreme," Cooper said.

Julie Jorgensen is a Republican and fifth-generation Mormon who has opposed Pearce for cutting adult education funds. She teaches adult education and dismissed the assertion that only liberals or open-border activists oppose Pearce.

"I want people to know that all Mormons and all Republicans are not as extreme as Russell Pearce," Jorgensen said.

To Volunteer: Please help put this recall effort over the top by volunteering your time. Once again, here is the contact information for the recall.

Citizens for a Better Arizona have a web site Recall Russell Pearce (http://recallpearce.com/). The web site has a download page for petitions. Petitions Recall Russell Pearce | Recall Russell Pearce.

Citizens For A Better Arizona, P.O. Box 41232, Mesa, AZ, 85274-1232
Phone: (480) 748-8991, Email: info@recallpearce.com.

To Donate: www.recallpearce.com Checks made payable to: Citizens for a Better Arizona.

Citizens for a Better Arizona needs to collect 7,756 valid signatures by May 31st in District 18, Mesa Arizona.

Help put them over their goal of 17,553 signatures and be a part of history.