Although the task force Gov. Katie Hobbs created to clarify and improve election practices has only met behind closed doors so far, it has now advanced 20 proposals. Those proposals will either roll out as new "best practices" or be presented to the Legislature.

Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly said the task force unanimously advanced her proposal to create a protected position under the Secretary of State's Office to ensure compliance with legal standards for accessibility.

“It would be a legally mandated position,” Cázares-Kelly said, “so that we would have to have somebody who could then assist and provide consistency with the 15 different counties.”

If the Legislature approves the proposal, she said she sees potential to go beyond just meeting standards.

“Somebody who could even address things like the terminology that we’re using when we’re talking about the needs of voters with disabilities,” Cázares-Kelly said.

With Arizona’s growing population of older adults, Cázares-Kelly predicts that the need for accommodations will only grow. Sometimes those needs are as simple as a spot to sit down.

“Can we provide a table and chair, and a privacy screen? Yes, that’s something that we can easily do,” she said.

The new position would be one that would create cohesion on accessibility issues between recorders and election directors throughout the state, Cázares-Kelly said.

“Coming in as a recorder, I was having to find all that information myself and piecemeal it together,” she recalled.

“We kind of had to teach ourselves,” Cázares-Kelly said of working with community organizations and researching accessible practices.

“We’re not in a place where we can share [those findings] with other counties, other than anecdotally,” she said. “So what this proposal is, is to have somebody housed under the Secretary of State’s office whose sole job and responsibility would be to ensure that we are compliant with state and federal law.”

Every demographic includes people with disabilities, Cázares-Kelly said, so making things accessible for one group has an impact on everyone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 27% of Arizona adults have a disability.

“It’s surprising how much we’re having to learn about another group of people who have just as much right as anyone else to participate in our democracy,” said Cázares-Kelly.

It isn’t very likely that the position will be created in time for the 2024 presidential election. But Cázares-Kelly said she hopes the Legislature will advance the proposal further to make voting a better, more dignified experience for everyone.