By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona has a new Elections Procedures Manual for the 2024 cycle, though litigation is all but certain from state Republicans.
On Saturday, just before the statute-mandated deadline of December 31, Democrat Adrian Fontes issued the 2023 Election Procedures Manual, after securing approvals from his fellow Democrat officeholders, Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes. In a statement to accompany the release of the manual, Fontes said, “Free, fair and secure elections have been this group’s commitment to the voter from the very beginning. This is what happens when a committed group of leaders comes together to serve their community. It’s good for our democracy and it’s good for Arizona.”
For the first time since 1978-1979, Democrats control the top three statewide offices in Arizona (Governor: Bruce Babbitt, Attorney General: John LaSota, Secretary of State: Rose Mofford). One of the most significant consequences of securing this power trifecta is the ability to negotiate, craft, and green light the state’s Election Procedures Manual without initial interference from opposing political voices, as required by law every two years.
Arizona Republicans were quick to push back against the elections manual and signaled a willingness to challenge the legality of its contents in court. House Speaker Ben Toma stated, “A lawful Elections Procedures Manual is paramount for the integrity of our elections. It’s been a top priority of the Arizona House Republican Caucus. I’m disappointed that SoS Fontes refused to correct many objections we raised in our comment to the EPM draft. We are preparing for litigation.”
The speaker’s reference to previous ‘objections’ harkened to an August public comment letter, which was submitted by Senate President Warren Petersen and Toma to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office after they reviewed the draft manual. Then, the legislators had identified their chief concern with Fontes’ initial offering, which was the “unlawful delay in the implementation of a 2021 state law that helps prevent voter fraud by requiring county recorders to remove any voters registered on the active early voter list who have not cast a ballot during two consecutive election cycles and have not responded to notification from the recorder that they wish to continue participation.” Petersen and Toma asserted that the consequence of this delay would be the perpetuated issuance “of ballots being sent to the homes of voters who may have moved or no longer wish to participate in this process, opening the door for ballots getting into the hands of unintended individuals.”
In a new statement after the release of the approved EPM, Petersen said, “We warned the SOS early on that we would sue if the Elections Procedure Manual was not corrected to reflect the laws passed by the legislature. Unfortunately that did not happen. I imagine there will be many plaintiffs joining the Senate in protecting our elections.”
Arizona Republican Party Chairman, Jeff DeWit, also promised legal action against the manual, calling it an “egregious destruction of election fairness by the Democrats.”
The AZGOP shared four “concerning elements” from its cursory review of the manual: limitation of free speech, restriction of voter challenges, exclusion of Republican oversight, and refusal to heed legal precedent. In its press release, the state Republican party charged Fontes with “trying to take powers from the state legislature that are not his to take.”
Representative Alexander Kolodin weighed in on the EPM, writing, “Fontes’ EPM is not an Elections Procedures Manual, it is a how-to manual to disenfranchise Republican voters and a breathtakingly unlawful power grab. It cannot be allowed to stand!”
While most Arizona Republicans are united in opposition to the 2023 EPM, so, too, are Democrats in their support of the Secretary of State’s submission. Governor Katie Hobbs, who preceded Fontes, said, “Partisan politics should have no role in how we run our elections. This EPM builds on the 2019 EPM and 2021 draft EPM from my tenure as Secretary of State and will ensure dedicated public servants from across the state will have the guidelines they need to administer free and fair elections. Together, we can protect our democracy and make sure every Arizonan has the opportunity to have their voice heard.”
As Secretary of State, Hobbs was required to finalize the EPM in 2021, but a divided government shared with Republican Governor Doug Ducey and Attorney General Mark Brnovich stymied the quest to secure a green light for the manual. Hobbs and Brnovich were also mired in an ongoing political feud, which resulted in legal bar charges that the Secretary of State brought against the state’s top prosecutor and several of his attorneys. After receiving Hobbs’ updated manual, Brnovich sued the SOS “to compel her production of a lawful EPM.” Brnovich alleged that “the SOS failed to provide the Governor and Attorney General with a lawful manual by October 1, 2021, as required, and instead included nearly one-hundred pages of provisions not permitted under the EPM statute.” The challenge from the former Attorney General was rendered unsuccessful, and the state was forced to revert to the previous cycle’s EPM (2019) to govern the 2022 races.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
