Yavapai News

An online system that facilitates people to sign a petition has been branded as being susceptible to fraud by the Arizona Republican Party attorney, Dennis Wilenchik, Tucson.com reported.

According to Tucson, the E-Qual system that had been proposed by GOP to Dominic Lanza, a U.S. District Court Judge, to collect the required signatures that are necessary for presenting proposals to voters in November, raised concerns regarding its safety.

Anyone could use E-Qual to ‘sign’ a petition as long as they hold an Arizona’s driving license or a voter ID number. They would provide personal information such as the last four digits of their social security number, their names, date of birth, and the DL or voter ID number.

According to the legal briefs presented by Wilenchik, the primary concern of using the system is how vulnerable it is to fraud. He centers his argument on the fact that drivers’ license numbers, physical address, and their names are public records and anyone can access them through the DMV system.

However, after Gov. Doug Ducey issued a stay-at-home order, Wilenchik has made exceptions of using the system so as to protect people from contracting the deadly COVID-19 virus. But, he is opposed to making this move a permanent one.

However, attorney Jim Barton, in his legal filings, said that there is no reason for legislatures to deny plaintiffs’ access to a system that they created to nominate proposals. Burton mentioned the constitutional rights that the plaintiffs have to air their opinions.

Regarding the fraud allegations, he pointed out the availability of circulators who are present when someone is signing a petition has helped to keep fraud risks lower. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, such people would not be allowed to violate public health warnings put in place to protect people.

Lanza has allowed Jim Barton, the Attorney General, to intervene where he will defend the E-Qual system to be limited to political candidates.