UPDATE: CNN Clarifies Article About Maricopa County's Emergency Voting; Putting the Genie Back In the Bottle Is Harder

UPDATE, 2:00p.m.: In response to Arizona's Politics' article, CNN has corrected their earlier piece to better reflect that Maricopa County did not just "extend" Early Voting through this coming weekend, and to better reflect the difference between the Early Voting period that ends this Friday and the Emergency Voting period that runs this coming Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Their initial headline is in our initial Fact Check, below. The new headline changes "Early voting" to "Pre-election voting" and the second sentence acknowledges that the plan was actually put into place in September (as we reported at the time).

Unfortunately, it is hard to put the genie back in the bottle. After protesting that their original article did not give the impression that something just happened, a CNN reporter - not one of the ones who had written the article - went on-air to say that Maricopa County's early voting "has NOW been extended...."

FACT CHECK: Maricopa County NOT Suddenly Extending Early Voting Through The Weekend; CNN Is Incorrect, Previous "Emergency Voting" Plan Still In Place, Says Fontes

CNN reported this morning that Early Voting in Maricopa County "will continue" through this weekend. However, that is incorrect, Recorder Adrian Fontes tells Arizona's Politics. There will be previously-planned "Emergency Voting" vote centers open around the county, but no changes have recently been made.

The CNN report - headlined "Early voting will continue through weekend in Arizona's largest county"   - gives the impression that the County Board of Supervisors approved the change due to the pandemic.

"That is wrong," says Fontes. "They will be open under the plan that was approved earlier."

Both Early Voting and Emergency Voting are both similar processes set forth in Arizona's statutes. By law, Early Voting ends the Friday before the election. Emergency Voting is in place for the next three days, and requires the Emergency Voter to specify that something unforeseen happened after 5pm Friday that makes it impossible for them to vote in person on Election Day.

The statement that Emergency Voters will sign states: "I declare under penalty of perjury that I am experiencing or have experienced an emergency after 5:00 p.m. on the Friday immediately preceding the election and before 5:00 p.m. on the Monday immediately preceding the election that will prevent me from voting at a polling place on Election Day.”

Those statements will not be available to party Poll Observers for challenging the voter's emergency status.

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GUEST COMMENTARY: Don’t play politics; retain Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury!

The political campaign to remove Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury has gained momentum. This is wrong, especially when it is based only on a sliver of evidence.

Arizona went to the judicial retention system to fix this politicization. Despite Judge Coury’s ruling in the Invest in Ed Initiative case, which Democratic literature claims was overly partisan, it is important to keep in mind that it was one opinion out of many.

From my personal experience observing Judge Coury’s courtroom during law school (while he was on the criminal bench), I was able to see a much different Judge Coury. I saw a fair, compassionate, and impartial judge who followed the letter of the law, and went above and beyond in faithfully executing his judicial duties. I learned a lot about criminal proceedings and the jury selection process because he took the time to explain and teach me.

I was further impressed by the weekly program for juvenile transfer offenders (JTOPS), which he ran. Through the JTOPS program, he helped to rehabilitate many juvenile offenders by offering them a chance to learn from their mistakes, staying out of the Department of Corrections system, and avoid recidivism. 

Overall, a judge's ruling in one case cannot possibly show a full and accurate representation of their ability to serve on the bench as a nonpartisan judge. I believe Judge Coury is an asset to the Maricopa County Court system and would be missed if he is unfairly voted out based on one ruling. 

(Aaryn Weich is a 2019 graduate of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law in Phoenix.)

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BREAKING: Arizona voter registration deadline EXTENDED until October 23. READ Judge Logan's opinion

In a stunning last minute decision, a judge extended Arizona's voter registration deadline from today until October 23. U.S. District Court Judge Steven Logan issued the ruling in a case brought by Mi Familia Vota mere hours before the statutory deadline of October 5.

For a very good (and, quick) article on the ruling, please see the article by Andrew Oxford.

Here is the ruling itself. There is no word yet on whether the state will appeal to the 9th Circuit.

2020 1005 MiFamilia -Ruling by arizonaspolitics on Scribd

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BREAKING: Stop The Trump Administration From Arguing Against Obamacare - Sen. McSally Votes To Move Forward With Schumer Bill

Arizona Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) and four other vulnerable Republicans voted with Democrats this afternoon to move forward with a symbolic bill that would have prevented the Trump Administration's Department of Justice from arguing to repeal the Obamacare bill in the Supreme Court next month. 

The measure failed to move forward, on a 51-43 vote; 60 votes were necessary - and, it would have needed to be signed by the President. 

The one-sentence bill from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated that the U.S. could not "advocate that a court invalidate any provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act."

 McSally is trailing to Democratic candidate Mark Kelly in the special election for the seat previously held by the late Sen. John McCain. The question of the Affordable Care Act and its protections for people with pre-existing conditions has been a central one in the campaign.

Arizona's Politics has asked her office to comment, and to state how she would have voted on the bill if it had come to a vote. More from Politico.

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