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Chavez v. Brewer

Arizona, which had been an all paper ballot, optical scan voting state, entered into contracts in December 2005, with major voting system vendors for the purchase of DRE voting equipment.  In May 2006, a group of Arizona voters filed a lawsuit in Arizona Superior Court in Phoenix against Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer seeking to prevent the use of this DRE voting equipment on the grounds that it violated state constitutional and statutory requirements protecting broad access to voting and ensuring accuracy in vote recording and tabulation. 

Status of Case

In July 2006, the Arizona Superior Court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss. In September 2006, the plaintiffs filed an appeal of the lower court’s ruling before the Arizona Court of Appeals. That appeal remains pending. The law firm of Perkins Coie Brown & Bain, P.A., in Phoenix serves as counsel for the plaintiffs. The lawsuit was filed with the support of Voter Action. Voter Action’s co-founder, Lowell Finley, served as co-counsel for the plaintiffs until January 2007, when he assumed the position of Deputy Secretary of State for Voting Systems Technology and Policy in the California Secretary of State’s Office.

Case Documents and Literature