Will Arizonans trust their elections and their votes— with this candidate?

Mark Finchem, GOP candidate for secretary of state and widely reported election denier, would be largely responsible for controlling Arizona elections— and the very process by which we vote

Mark+Finchem+speaking+at+an+event+in+Florence%2C+AZ.

Gage Skidmore (Flickr)

Mark Finchem speaking at an event in Florence, AZ.

Nicole White, Reporter

Mark Finchem, the GOP candidate for secretary of state, a vocal 2020 presidential election denier, reportedly wants to get rid of early voting.

He would like to restrict mail-in ballots (even though widely popular in Arizona) and, along with GOP gubernatorial candidate, Kari Lake, lost a bid from a federal judge to ban the use of all electronic vote-counting machines in Arizona.

 Finchem, is among some of the vocal election deniers running for the office of secretary of state across the nation that want to “govern our election system,” says Tammy Patrick a former election official in Arizona—a “trend that is deeply troubling.”

There have been several independent audits in Arizona by counties that have shown that the votes that Arizonans cast in the 2020 presidential election were valid…in fact, they were substantively accurate.

But that didn’t keep Finchem along with GOP gubernatorial candidate, Kari Lake from filing a lawsuit—bankrolled by “MyPillow Guy” conspiracy theorist, Mike Lindell, and seeking a legal judgment that would force a hand count of all ballots in Arizona.

In late August federal judge, John Tuchi reportedly stated that the plaintiffs had not shown evidence that they are being harmed by the current system,—a necessary precursor to bringing suit in federal court.

“Not only do plaintiffs fail to produce any evidence that a full hand count would be more accurate, but a hand count would also require Maricopa County to hire 25,000 temporary staff and find two million square feet of space,’’ Tuchi said.

Reportedly, much of Tuchi’s conclusion centered on the fact that—there is no risk of imminent harm from continued use of tabulation equipment and is based on what he said are independent audits for each election.

Finchem also said at a June pre-primary fund raiser, that if he lost his own election— “ain’t gonna be no concession speech coming from this guy.”

As a staunch election denier and advocate of overturning the claimed, but unevidenced election “steal” with regard to the victory of President Joe Biden—a report by the New York Times reveals that Finchem states in an email that if he had been in office things would have been different

“In a May email he assured Republican supporters that if he had been in office in 2020, ‘we would have won. Plain and simple.’—”In the days after the election, he was co-host of an unofficial hearing at a downtown Phoenix hotel where Mr. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, aired bogus stolen-elections claims. He was instrumental in trying to advance a slate of fake Trump electors in Arizona — part of a scheme to overturn the elections in a number of states that is being investigated by the Justice Department — and he is helping gather signatures to petition to decertify the state’s election results, even though that is not legally possible.”

In the Finchem world…when does someone actually win an election?

His co-sponsoring of a bill would have given the state’s Republican or any legislative majority the authority to overturn and reject election results—the will of the people—a move that has many Arizonans unnerved.

Finchem also does not deny that he was at least among those who marched to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 but reportedly said he did not come closer than 500 yards—even though photos that surfaced reportedly bring that assertion into question, showing Finchem near the Capitol steps.

Finchem has not been charged but has been subpoenaed by the House investigating the Jan. 6 riot.

Finchem has also reportedly stated in the past, that he is a member of the Oath Keepers.

Several of the Oath Keepers members have reportedly been criminally charged in the Jan. 6 riot.

Finchem has not responded to our request for an interview.