Beau Lane, GOP candidate for Arizona SoS, likes early voting but thinks system can be better

PHOENIX – Beau Lane, a Republican candidate for Arizona secretary of state, said he has confidence in the state’s early voting system but sees room for improvement.

If it were up to the political newcomer, he would eliminate ballot drop boxes.

“They’ve proven to just cause too much concern,” Lane told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Thursday. “It’s easy to vote in Arizona. We don’t need drop boxes.”

Lane is partner/executive chairman at LaneTerralever, a Phoenix-based national digital marketing firm. He said his business experience makes him the most qualified candidate in the field, Republican or Democrat.

He’s running against three state lawmakers in the Aug. 2 GOP primary: Shawnna Bolick, Mark Finchem and Michelle Ugenti-Rita. Arizona House Minority Leader Reginald Bolding and former Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes are vying for the Democratic nomination.

“I’m the only one of those candidates that’s not basically a career politician,” said Lane, who was endorsed by Gov. Doug Ducey.

Secretary of state in Arizona serves as the state’s chief election officer and is first in line to succeed the governor.

“I have very good executive training and instincts, and I believe of all the people who are running for secretary of state, I have by far the best qualifications to step in to be the CEO of the state of Arizona, if need be,” he said.

Lane opposes the idea of abolishing early voting, something the state Republican Party has been pushing for in a lawsuit.

“I would not end early voting. … If people want to do that, we can decide to do that and the secretary of state would have to execute upon that,” he said.

“But some 80% of us are voting by mail in Arizona right now. We’ve had a system for 30 years, so I don’t see that going away anytime soon.”

But he thinks making “common sense reforms” would increase the public’s faith in the election process.

In addition to getting rid of drop boxes, Lane favors adding additional ID requirements to mail-in voting and conducting “regular forensic audits” that are determined before elections are held.

“These audits need to be determined prior to the election, maybe be conducted by the state auditor general who audits all state agencies, and … [it] needs to be a transparent process from the beginning with the rules established up front,” he said.

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