NEW: Less Obvious Connections Between Arizona and "We Build The Wall", Arrestees Steve Bannon and Brian Kolfage

We all know the well-publicized connections between Arizona and the "We Build the Wall" effort. WBTW founder Brian Kolfage and Advisory Board Chair Steve Bannon were arrested this morning of defrauding thousands of contributors by funneling more than $1M for their personal expenses. Both have long and well-documented histories with Arizona.

But, here are a few of the lesser-known connections, which we just rattled off in a series of tweets:

1) @RepGosar tried to get taxpayers' $ redirected to WBTW (https://bit.ly/32dxVLI)

2) Bd member Curt Schilling (fmr resident, Dbacks star)

3) Rep. Warren Peterson (@votewarren, Maj. Ldr, passed bill thru AZ House to allow We Build The Wall to blow off county/city building permits, etc (https://bit.ly/328Bxig, stalled in Senate)) 4) Consultant Mary Ann Mendoza (Mesa) 5) Comms Dir. Jennifer Lawrence (previously worked for @AZGOP Chair @kelliwardaz Senate campaign) JLaw's cell phone(s) were seized this a.m. in Nevada.

6) Dustin Stockton, CEO of "America First Projects" and who had his cell phone(s) seized this a.m. along with spouse Lawrence (above); former Chief Strategist for the above-mentioned Kelli Ward. (h/t @TinPhx)

Of course, there are other spider web-like connections between some of these individuals, as well. For

instance, we do not know if Rep. Gosar was coordinating with Steve Bannon on the re-direction of U.S. funds for Bannon's private piggy-bank, but we do know the two worked together on wooing far-right politicians in Europe. Rep. Gosar was nervous enough about that that he hid the information from his required travel disclosure forms.

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BREAKING: Supreme Court Reverses, Invest In Ed Initiative Back On The Ballot (READ Decision)

In a major decision, the Arizona Supreme Court has reinstated the Invest In Ed ballot initiative that will

place a surcharge on higher income earners to help fund education. The decision reverses the Superior Court opinion that removed the measure on the basis that the 100-word description was not comprehensive enough.

"The Court unanimously finds that the 100-word description did not create a significant danger of confusion or unfairness and reverses the trial court ruling."

The Justices did agree with Judge Christopher Coury that the incentives that the petition circulating company paid individuals who collected many of the signatures "did not warrant the invalidation" of the petition signatures, although recent statutes prohibit initiative circulators from paying by the signature.

Today's decision on the 100-word description will bode well for the other three ballot measures - all of which are currently in front of the Supreme Court on similar challenges.

A more complete Opinion will likely be published in the next couple of months.

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THEY'RE BA-ACK: DefendArizona Returns To Drop $1.9M To Attack "Millionaire" Mark Kelly (WATCH Ad)

DefendArizona is back today, spending $1.9M over the next two weeks on ads designed to pummel Senate candidate Mark Kelly as a "millionaire" who cannot be trusted. The one-candidate SuperPAC that spent $22.6M in 2018 beating up Kyrsten Sinema, makes its long-awaited (by some) return.

DefendArizona informed the Federal Elections Commission today that it spent $1.0M within the past 48 hours, but spokesperson Barrett Marson tells Arizona's Politics that the total budget through the end of August is $1.9M. 

DefendArizona hammers Mark Kelly for World View Enterprises, a company that he co-founded several years ago, but only retains a stock position in now. World View received monies from Pima County and the state. The new ad states "Kelly got paid", although it is unknown how much money he earned from the company. (He values his stock at being worth between $100-250,000.) The ad also argues that World View received a $1-2M loan (aka grant) from the pandemic-related Paycheck Protection Program, although Kelly is no longer involved with the company (that continues to operate in Tucson).

As in 2018, DefendArizona has started out with funding from Republican contributors from Arizona; it brought in $166,000 through June 30. Either it has raised another $1.8M from those givers since then, or it is following the 2018 playbook, when it became the Arizona vessel for the Senate Leadership Fund. SLF - a partly dark money group affiliated with Senate Majority Leader (and multi-millionaire) Mitch McConnell - contribute nearly all of the $22.6M in 2018.

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BREAKING: U.S. Postal Service Gives Arizona "Heightened Warning" Re: Election Mail; Hobbs Gets Attorney General Involved (READ Warning)

The U.S. Postal Service is warning Arizona that it may not be able to get ballots to voters on time if they request them close to the election. Arizona law has long given voters until 11 days before the election to REQUEST an absentee ballot by mail. 

The "heightened warning" was to Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs is dated July 29, 2020 and were first reported earlier today by the Washington Post. Arizona's laws are not an exception; 39 other states received similar warnings.

The letter - which Arizona's Politics received this afternoon from the Secretary of State, and is published below - indicates that the USPS's legal team analyzed Arizona's early ballot statutes and, combined with USPS delivery time ranges, presents a "significant risk that, at least in certain circumstances, ballots may be requested in a manner that is consistent with your election rules and returned promptly, and yet not be returned in time to be counted." (emphasis added)

That is not to say that the Postal Service is worried about the large majority of Arizona mail-in ballots. Most of those ballots are mailed by the County Elections Departments four weeks before the November 3 Election Day. Even with the longest delivery range of 10 days, that gives those voters plenty of time to vote and return it. (They do NOT have to return it by mail, but many do.)

It is those voters who decide to request a one-time absentee ballot in mid- to late-October who are the main concern. Arizona law (A.R.S. Sec. 16-542(E)) gives them until October 24 to request a ballot (for this election). The County then has two days to mail it out. If the Postal Service is slow, the voter may not receive it by Election Day. And, even if she receives it quickly, votes and decides to return it by mail, that ballot may not get there by November 3.

Hobbs today called on Attorney General Mark Brnovich to immediately have his Election Integrity Unit investigate the situation, especially in light of recent comments by President Donald Trump. She tweeted out that letter earlier today, and it is also published below.

Hobbs tells Arizona's Politics "We are preparing to meet this challenge. The good news is that Arizona has a tried and true ballot-by-mail process, and for years we have been encouraging voters to mail their ballots back early. Since receiving this letter, we have revised our recommendation and are now encouraging voters to mail ballots by Oct. 27 to help ensure it arrives on time.  We are also increasing the number of secure drop-boxes across our state, and reminding voters that they can always skip ahead at any voting location to drop off a ballot-by-mail. This ongoing situation is a perfect example of why we need to make sure voters know what their options are.”

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Trump REFUSES To Bless Arizona's Model Mail-in Voting System, To Ducey's Face; Governor Defends It As "Difficult, If Not Impossible To Cheat"

President Donald Trump refused to urge Arizona Republicans to vote by mail today during a face-to-face with Governor Doug Ducey in the White House. The Governor retorted that Arizona's predominant method of voting will be "difficult, if not impossible, to cheat."

The President reversed course yesterday and praised Florida's early voting system. A reporter asked him today if he would say the same for Arizona. The President dodged the opportunity by saying that he had not discussed it with Ducey, and he went on to blast mail-in voting around the nation. There is no evidence that mail-in voting is less secure than in-person voting.

Ducey was asked to respond, and the Governor listed off all of the reasons that Arizona does vote-by-mail right, noting that 78% of Arizona voters utilize the early voting method. The President then backtracked slightly and conceded that Arizona has "done a good job".

Republicans nationally are concerned that the President's repeated attacks on mail-in voting will depress Republican turnout in key states across the nation. Polling and data has already suggested that Republicans' trust in mail-in ballots is dropping, and the fear is that some percentage of those will not end up casting their ballots in person on Election Day.

The 12-minute White House event this afternoon was designed to highlight the amounts of PPE, and medications that Arizona received from the national stockpile. It was also an opportunity for the Governor and his advisor, Gretchen Conger, to praise the President's leadership and to note that Arizona's numbers are finally headed in the right direction.

Here is the transcript from the meeting, below the jump,

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