CPAC 2016 - March 3, 2016

One man turns in several thousand ballots all by himself at one polling place on a general election day. That doesn't happen in America, does it? Well it does happen during every election in my state, and believe it or not it's perfectly legal. I'm Michelle Reagan, the Secretary of State from Arizona, and I am here to warn conservatives everywhere that although our election system is the greatest in the world it is still far from perfect. Arizona is a red state with a Republican legislature and a GOP sweep of the top nine statewide offices, yet an outrageous loophole in state law allows for mass ballot collection also known as ballot harvesting. And the radical left who uses ballot harvesting has blocked our common sense attempts to close this loophole citing the oft used phrase of voter suppression or that we are trying to block access to the polls. Far from it.

As Republicans, we proudly believe in greater access to the polls. We believe that it should be easy to vote, but we also believe that it should be hard to cheat. That should be the gold standard that you should demand your secretaries of state are striving for. In America, we know that we have a fundamental right to a free and fair election process, but that also means we must have a process that is free from fraud, and it is your secretaries of state all across the nation, your republican secretaries of state, who are standing vigilant for these causes. Easy to vote, hard to cheat. One person, one vote, not one man several thousand ballots.

The very fact that ballot harvesting even exists today and remains legal is appalling. We must, and with your help, we will find a way to end it. In 2004, Arizona was the first state to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote and to show voter ID at the polls, and yet just last year my election officials rejected approximately 1,700 voter registration forms because they were received without adequate proof of US citizenship. By the way, exactly zero of those registrants supplied proof of citizenship when they were given a second chance to come in and follow up.

Its elected officials like myself around the country who are the ones keeping the processed honest by protecting elections from the progressive efforts to loosen registration requirements. The GOP can nominate the most superior candidates in the country, but it will mean nothing, absolutely nothing without proper oversight of ballot security. If we believe in our candidates and we believe in their message, then we must also fight for fair elections. From curbing ballot harvesting to keeping voting laws that require proof of citizenship, it is your secretaries of state that are fighting to ensure your elections are secure and valid. We are the most important tool you have to keeping freedoms at the ballot box. Please support me and the 28 Republican secretaries of state nationwide who are trying to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat. Thank you so much.