Jan. 14, 2010
Secretary of State Ken Bennett visits Mohave County

KINGMAN, Ariz. – Mohave County elections personnel received certification from Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010, at the County Administration Building in Kingman. “These certificates say these individuals have completed a course the Secretary of State’s Office conducts,” Bennett said. The elections personnel who received the certificates “are now certified to work in elections during 2010 and 2011.”

Those county employees who received certification are Elections Director Allen Tempert, County Recorder Carol Meier, Office Assistant Erma Allen, Office Clerk Betty Stimson, Voter Outreach Coordinator Betty Vernon, Elections Assistant Nancy Krahulec, Office Assistant Ramona Whitton, Voter Registration Supervisor Kim Stewart, Elections Technician Charlie Abernathy and Office Assistant Darlene Pennell.

“One of the most important things we do at the Secretary of State’s Office is elections,” Bennett said to the certificate recipients. “As Secretary of State, I am the chief elections officer. But, I always remind people, the State of Arizona does not own one piece of equipment to print a ballot, count a ballot or do anything that gets done at the local level. You folks do. More than anything else, I want to thank you for going through the training. What you do is very important for the citizens of our state. Thank you for doing that so they (citizens) can select their leaders in government and express their interests as voters.”

Secretary Bennett said he is running for election to the office that he was appointed to last year by the former Secretary of State, Gov. Jan Brewer.

“I’m enjoying what I am doing,” he said. “I want to continue to work with those in our office and elections personnel around the state. We have a great staff at the office, but we also rely heavily on each county.” The Secretary of State’s Office “adopts the state’s elections procedures manual and Carol (Meier) and Allen (Tempert) have participated in that over the last several months. We make sure the procedures that elections officials throughout the state are using are consistent, fair, open and transparent.

“Our vision is honest and fair elections and open government,” Bennett said. “Part of what we (Secretary of State’s Office) do is keep track of all the official acts our government does. And then we make sure the people have access to the information about what government is doing.”

“I am so proud of Mohave County Elections staff and very pleased that Secretary Bennett was able to personally present each staff member their certification,” Tempert said. “Becoming state certified in the elections field is an arduous process and congratulations are in order to all who are able to accomplish this task. Well-educated staff members allow for more efficient elections for the residents of Mohave County.”

“This was a great honor to have Secretary Bennett take the time out of his busy schedule to come here to personally present Election Officers’ Certifications,” Meier said. “I look forward to a continuing great working relationship with Secretary Bennett and his staff.”

“I just wanted to go out to each county in person and emphasize that we really appreciate what the local elections officials do that helps the whole system in Arizona be successful,” Bennett said.

View a photo of this event in the Photo Gallery.

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