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Opinion

Reveles: Audit Pinal County elections department, sheriff’s office

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Truth, trust, transparency and accountability are words that are desperately needed to guide all levels of government today.

At recent Pinal County Board of Supervisors meetings and throughout our country we’re witnessing expressions of distrust about the most essential principles of our unique republican form of democracy – questions about the integrity of our voting process and questions about equal justice under the law.

These stubborn questions manifested themselves in January by violence at our nation’s Capitol, a place where I worked for 24 years, and last month by an historic criminal trial of a law enforcement officer.

It’s not an overstatement to say that these dramatic incidents question the very essence of our unique American experience in self governance – questioning the authority of the federal system itself.

For most of us that basic question was decided 156 years ago.

Nonetheless, today our country and our county continue to face confusion and division by stubborn questions that are strongly held opinions but largely based on demonstrable untruths.

I have no doubt, however, that this confusion and division can be overcome by people of goodwill coming together in civil dialogue to speak respectfully and truthfully.

That is why two weeks ago after listening to a number of fellow citizens who spoke about their lack of trust in our voting system, I requested the Board of Supervisors authorize financial and performance audits of those responsible for voting and for law enforcement in Pinal County — the Elections Department and the Sheriff’s Office.

I have faith and trust that by conducting these audits we can help restore respect for our country’s most troubled institutions — voting and law enforcement.

For these reasons I again urge the board to implement those audits.

Editor’s note: Gold Canyon resident Roberto Reveles made the above statement at the May 5 Pinal County Board of Supervisors meeting.

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