Losing Arizona: Is Rep. Shawnna Bolick an Insurrectionist?

This is part of a series from The Copper Courier highlighting the Arizona legislators involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and the events leading up to it. Read the rest here.

Rep. Shawnna Bolick was elected to represent north Phoenix’s District 20 in 2018 after two previously unsuccessful runs for office. Bolick has a master’s degree from American University and was appointed to the Arizona State Board of Education’s Academic Standards Development Committee and Arizona’s Early Childhood Education and Health Board by Gov. Doug Ducey.

Contributions to the Insurrection

Bolick signed a letter to then-Vice President Mike Pence asking him not to certify election results. 

She also signed on to a letter to Congress asking them to accept the 11 “alternate” electoral votes for Trump or to have all of the state’s electoral votes “nullified completely until a full forensic audit can be conducted.”

Bolick was the sponsor of a bill that would have given the state legislature the authority over the selection of presidential electors and to revoke the elector’s certification any time before the Presidential inauguration—essentially giving the state lawmaker the power to override election results. 

“The Legislature … by majority vote at any time before the presidential inauguration may revoke the secretary of state’s issuance or certification of a presidential elector’s certificate of election,” the bill text states.

Bolick defended the bill in response to criticism.

“This bill would give the Arizona Legislature back the power it delegated to certify the electors. It is a good, democratic check and balance,” she said in a statement. 

The bill was criticized for being an overreach of power, with Secretary of State Katie Hobbs calling the proposal “breathtaking.”

It was never assigned to a committee.

How You May Have Heard of Them

During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bolick wrote an editorial in The Arizona Republic that stated mailing more ballots lends itself to “fraud and confusion”—echoing similar debunked claims made by then-President Donald Trump on Twitter. 

Bolick is among the slew of Arizona Republicans that introduced a controversial bill in January that would force county prosecutors to file homicide charges against women who receive abortions and the doctor who performed the procedure. 

She is up for re-election in 2022.

Bolick isn’t alone. See the others who played a role in the insurrection.