Arizona lawmaker: Let's just declare Trump the winner of the 2024 election now

Remember when certain Arizona Republican legislators wanted to veto our vote for president?

Now there’s a plan afoot to simply award Arizona’s 11 presidential electors to Donald Trump even before we go the polls.

I am not making this up.

House Concurrent Resolution 2055 resolves “to change the manner of the presidential election by appointing the eleven presidential electors to the Republican primary winner to offset the removal of a Republican candidate from the ballot in Colorado and Maine.”

Or in the alternative, if Gov. Katie Hobbs doesn’t accede to Republicans’ demands, to appoint Arizona’s electors “to protect the 2024 presidential election from another maladministered and illegally run election.”

This bill is an assault on democracy

The resolution is brought to you by Rep. Rachel Jones of Tucson, who has apparently moved on from complaining about stolen elections to a wholesale hijacking of the 2024 presidential vote in a key battleground state.

“This resolution basically says that your Arizona Legislature, according to the U.S. Constitution, has full plenary authority over presidential elections,” she said during a hearing on her bill on Wednesday.

Actually, it says a heck of a lot more than that. It says Arizona’s vote should be awarded to Trump now — nine months before we go to the polls.

As assaults on democracy go, this one would rank right up there with Jan. 6, 2021, only without the trashed U.S. Capitol and police beatings.

Even Freedom Caucus members are skeptical

Fortunately, Jones’ scheme was too much even for Republican Reps. Alexander Kolodin of Scottsdale and Justin Heap of Mesa, who like her are members of the hard-right Arizona Freedom Caucus.

“Wouldn’t we be guilty of exactly what we accuse the other side of doing, stealing the election?” Kolodin asked.

“Are you asking us just to give Donald Trump the electors without having a vote?” Heap asked.

Yes, replied Josh Barnett, a state Senate candidate who is pushing the bill. “It’s the only way to protect the vote for ’24.”

Fake elector uses 'investigation': For political payback

I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict Barnett’s chances of being elected will hover somewhere between slim and none once voters in north Phoenix find out he wanted to strip them of their right to vote for president.

Jones’ bill was ultimately tabled during Wednesday’s meeting of the House Municipal Affairs and Elections Committee. Given opposition from Kolodin and Heap, I’m guessing we’ve seen the end of this insane idea.

For now, at least.

Change how we elect president? Try it

But how astonishing it is that GOP Rep. Jacqueline Parker of Mesa, who chairs the committee and also is a member of the Freedom Caucus, would even schedule Jones’ ridiculous resolution for a hearing?

Apparently, the goal is to force Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs to agree to kill the state’s three-decade-old early ballot program that is used by 80% of voters and to require a hand count of ballots, among other things.

It’s difficult … no, actually, it’s impossible … to see how this resolution would have the force of law given that real bills require the governor’s signature and real resolutions require the consent of voters.

But here’s the really disturbing part. Jones and the other people pushing this bill don’t seem to think they need to change a law in order to revoke Arizona voters’ right to elect a president.

They’re relying on a part of the U.S. Constitution that says, “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct,” its presidential electors.

Never mind that the Arizona Legislature long ago directed what that manner would be — that Arizona’s voters would choose Arizona’s electors.

In her resolution, Jones seems to suggest that lawmakers can snatch back the power from voters at their whim.

Me? Two words come to mind:

Try it.

Reach Roberts at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Republican wants to declare Trump the winner before we vote