The Democratic Party’s go-to election lawyer that played a principal role in Hillary Clinton’s Russiagate hoax scored a victory against two Arizona laws requiring proof of citizenship to vote. Judge Susan Bolton — appointed by Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton — issued the ruling last week.
Bolton ruled in the Arizona District Court case Mi Familia Vota v. Fontes that the two laws, HB 2492 and HB 2243, asked too much of voters by requiring proof of citizenship in order to vote. Bolton said the requirement constituted an “additional burden” that “disadvantages” voters.
Elias called proof of citizenship requirements “voter suppression.”
🚨BREAKING: Federal Court BLOCKS key portions of Arizona voter suppression law requiring strict proof of citizenship to vote. Congratulations to our clients @votolatino and @MiFamiliaVota and the ELG team. Remaining parts go trial trial in November.https://t.co/nsXzORw1iY
Whether or not the judge had ruled in favor of the state laws, the secretary of state’s office has apparently been ignoring certain reporting requirements in one of the contested laws. The Arizona Daily Independent reported that the legislature received neither of the required quarterly records on canceled voter registrations due to deaths, driver’s licenses in other states, jury questionnaire answers, and inactive voting history.
Bolton determined that the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), the federal voter registration requirements and policies signed into law by Clinton, preempted both state laws. The NVRA requires states to register voters for federal elections using the federal government’s form; this form doesn’t require proof of citizenship, yet individuals may still cast votes in federal elections.
After the Supreme Court told Arizona in a 2013 ruling that it couldn’t reject NVRAs based on its lack of citizenship proof, then-Secretary of State Ken Bennett split the voter registration system to require proof of citizenship in statewide and local races, while offering the NVRA as an option to vote in federal races only. Those voters who capitalize on the latter are known as “federal-only” voters.
AZ Free News reported in 2021 that there were over 11,600 federal-only voters in the 2020 election based on limited vote data from several counties, most of which came from Maricopa County. That’s compared to the 1,700 federal-only votes cast in the 2018 election. At the time of our 2021 reporting, not all counties were publicly posting their federal-only ballots cast despite state law requiring the disclosure.
“[A]fter each general election, [the county recorder] shall post on the recorder’s website the number of ballots cast by those persons who were eligible to vote a ballot containing federal offices only,” states the law.
It appears that the state’s two largest counties neglected to adhere to the federal-only ballot disclosure law for the 2022 election.
Maricopa County didn’t publish a file like they did in 2020 disclosing the number of federal-only ballots cast for the 2022 election.
Pima County displayed the number of federal-only ballots cast for 2020, but it didn’t issue an update or similar public display for last year’s election. The county recorder only disclosed the number of provisional ballots it accepted or denied based on federal-only status in its December after-action report: 51, compared to the 107 provisional federal-only ballots accepted in the 2020 election and 108 provisional federal-only ballots accepted in the 2018 election.
Most of these federal-only ballots are likely absentee. About 89 percent of all voters in Arizona cast their vote by mail-in ballot.
In last week’s ruling, Bolton opined that the NVRA only allows states to place limits on mail-in voting when it comes to first-time voters, and not under any additional circumstances, like requiring proof of citizenship.
“Had Congress intended to permit states that allow absentee voting to require in-person voting under additional circumstances — including when a registrant fails to provide DPOC — it could have said so in the NVRA,” wrote Bolton. “Not only does the statute exclude failure to provide DPOC among the reasons a state may require an individual to vote in person, but as explained below, the purpose of the NVRA supports an interference that Congress meant to limit the number of circumstances in which a state could prevent an individual from voting by mail.”
The court addressed whether the laws were conducive to enhancing the participation of eligible citizens as voters in elections for federal office. The Fifteenth Amendment expressly assigns the right to vote with U.S. citizens, with the definition of citizenship provided in the amendment immediately preceding, the Fourteenth Amendment.
Bolton also ruled that the state failed to limit its systemic purges of voter rolls from occurring within 90 days of an election. She rejected arguments from the state that this 90-day window didn’t apply to voters who were found to be noncitizens. Meaning, individuals not qualified to vote can’t be purged from voter rolls in a systematic manner if they’re discovered as ineligible within 90 days of an election; these removals may only occur on a strictly individual basis.
“While the Court agrees with Plaintiffs that the State may still conduct individualized voter removals within the 90-day window, the systematic removal program mandated by HB 2243 violates Section 8(c)(2) of the NVRA,” stated Bolton.
Bolton opted not to rule yet on several issues. Two concerned the state’s requirement of investigations and cancellations of the voter registrations of those noncitizens identified through various government databases. Another concerned the state’s requirement of an individual to disclose their citizenship and birthplace, which Bolton noted were only in violation of the Materiality Provision when also providing the state with DPOC.
“The Checkbox Requirement violates the Materiality Provision when an applicant provides satisfactory evidence of citizenship,” stated Bolton.
Ruling on those questions will be issued sometime after the November trial.
Elias was joined in the lawsuit against the laws by the Department of Justice (DOJ) last summer.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04) and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego will host a re-election campaign fundraiser for President Joe Biden later this month.
The reception will take place Sept. 28 through the Biden Victory Fund. Tickets range from a $3,300 minimum to $100,000. The location of the event is confidential, for attendees only.
The fundraiser will occur the day after the first Republican Party presidential debate in Simi Valley, California.
The contact for the event, Guicela Sandoval-Lopez, is a political consultant with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Susie T. Buell Foundation.
Gallego told reporters that she’s confident Arizona will remain a blue state in 2024.
The pair are also on the campaign trail defending their incumbency. Though Stanton entertained a challenge to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), he announced at the start of the year that he intended on remaining in the House.
The mayor and her council — along with her former husband and Stanton’s fellow congressman, Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) — have been petitioning for the Biden administration to declare the desert heat as an emergency. Such a declaration would ensure a consistent and ample source of federal funding for various municipal projects.
The Biden administration appears to be heeding that request. In July, Biden issued several heat relief directives in a joint call with Gallego and San Antonio, Texas Mayor Ron Nirenberg.
Biden’s directives resulted in a Heat Hazard Alert outlining federal heat-related protections, as well as increased enforcement mechanisms by the Labor Department.
Despite those actions and the administration’s estimation of $50 billion in funding to counter heat due to climate change, Gallego told Biden that Phoenix needed more.
“We would love it if Congress would give you the ability to declare heat a disaster,” said Gallego. “We think that could really save additional aid, and that would even more multiply the impact of FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance and Building Resistant — Resilience Infrastructure — the BRIC programs, which are a good start to building long-term solutions, such as energy redundancy for cooling centers.”
The Phoenix mayor has remained a steadfast supporter of the president. She helped his initial campaign as well.
Happening tomorrow: Join @DNC Chair @TomPerez and me in north Phoenix as the Biden Bus rolls into town!
Come grab some literature and help us deliver it to neighborhoods, then grab signs to show your @JoeBiden & @KamalaHarris pride.
In 2021, Gallego was one of eight mayors invited to the White House to weigh in on proposed infrastructure funding, some of which reportedly went to combating climate change.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A federal jury has found GOP congressional candidate Jeff Zink’s son, Ryan Zink, guilty of all charges pertaining to his involvement in January 6.
The District Court of Columbia jury found Zink guilty of all three counts in under half an hour: obstruction of an official proceeding, U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2); entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, U.S.C. § 1752(a)(1); disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, U.S.C. § 1752(a)(2).
The three offenses altogether carry up to 22 years’ imprisonment.
Guilty all counts less then 30 minutes deliberations.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped a fourth charge in his case, engaging in disorderly conduct in a capitol building U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D), which would’ve warranted up to six additional months in prison.
Zink maintains that he didn’t go inside the Capitol building, and that he was present within the crowd as a media representative for his father’s campaign.
“Not everyone went inside. It was a small group of about I would say 25-30 people and they were the only combative ones[.] I got super close and documented everything[.] I’m not some radical right wing nut job I literally took pictures of them and saw the tattoos[;] it’s not hard to identify,” wrote Zink. “If you were there you could have seen this[,] it was different in my life and in reporting I have seen what riots and violence looks like[;] this was planned strategic trained tactical[;] this was no ordinary rue [sic] it was a planned thing.”
In video evidence obtained by the DOJ, Zink recorded himself traveling within a crowd up to the Capitol building, in which he admitted to knocking down the gates and expressing an intent to breach the building.
“We knocked down the gates! We’re storming the Capitol!” said Zink. “You can’t stop us!”
It was an anonymous social media follower of Zink’s who reported him to the DOJ. According to the DOJ, that follower also reported two other unnamed individuals in attendance at the protest.
Zink says he plans to appeal.
Zink is crowdfunding for his legal fees. As of press time, Zink has raised nearly $8,000 of his $40,000 legal goal.
Attorney General Kris Mayes tapped the leaders of progressive groups representing psychologists and pediatricians to address social media’s adverse effects on teen mental health.
The Arizona Association of School Psychologists (AASP) represented by its president, Matthew Moix; the Arizona chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) represented by its immediate past president, Jason Vargas; and social media expert Louie Bischoff were featured guests for Mayes’ town hall on Tuesday to discuss the effects of social media on teen mental health. (In her press release, Mayes referred to AASP as the Arizona School Psychologists Association [ASPA]).
The attorney general hosted the town hall meeting at Gateway Community College. During the event, Mayes entertained the potential for bringing legal action against certain social media companies.
“This is an issue that I think more and more parents are grappling with, more and more families are concerned by and are having to deal with, but it’s something I also think is appropriate for [attorney generals] to address from a legal standpoint,” said Mayes.
As a mom, I’m concerned about the effects of social media on teens’ mental health. Tonight’s town hall gathered doctors and marketing experts to understand the implications. Grateful for the students, teachers and community members who showed up to share their experiences. pic.twitter.com/fL35MQjo8S
The AASP is the state affiliate of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP); both have issued guidance running counter to long-held understandings on mental disorders established by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders. Mental health care professionals have relied on the DSM since the early 1950s for diagnostic and treatment purposes.
As early as 2016, AASP issued a guideline on “Supporting Transgender and Gender Diverse Students at School.” AASP based their guidance on a joint letter by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division and the Department of Education (ED) Office for Civil Rights guidance on the civil rights protections of transgender students, issued in the waning months of the Obama administration.
AASP and NASP declared that “neither having a transgender identity nor being perceived as gender diverse is a disorder.” It further declared that resistance to a child’s gender identity would result in lasting adverse mental health outcomes.
Following George Floyd’s death and amid the racial riots in 2020, AASP issued guidance on “Social Justice, Prejudice, and Discrimination” encouraging school psychologists to ensure diversity among personnel, incorporate social justice throughout their schools, and overhaul policies that “may passively support” negative outcomes for certain groups of students.
The AASP also has a resource page specifically for social justice matters.
Similarly, AAP opposes any bans on gender transition procedures for minors, which it referred to as “gender-affirming care.”
“Any discrimination based on gender identity or expression is damaging to the socioemotional health of children and families as evidenced by increased risk of suicide in this population,” stated the AAP.
Last month, AAP members voted to make lobbying for federal protections for minors to obtain gender transition procedures as the top priority. Other top priorities included lobbying for state constitutional ballot amendments protecting abortion rights, opposing legislation banning DEI offices and restricting DEI education in state medical schools, and banning youth-oriented gun advertising.
AAP has also supported other controversial health guidance for children.
AAP long advocated for the continued administration of COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots, despite acknowledging findings of adverse effects from the vaccination. For years, AAP also advocated for the safety and efficacy of masking as necessary for schoolchildren.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Arizona State University (ASU) and the State Department have teamed up to train students to become disinformation specialists.
The new program, announced on the 22nd anniversary of 9/11 on Monday, is part of a globalist effort to unify government response to disinformation.
ASU will partner with the State Department’s European Digital Diplomacy Exchange (EDDE) program to produce a new class coming in the spring, “Democratic Resilience in the Digital Age.” ASU students will collaborate with both State Department leaders and representatives from 21 different European governments to develop content for press briefings and government social media accounts.
.@GPA_AS Bill Russo traveled to Arizona to launch a new partnership between @EDDEplomacy and @ASU to create new coursework and internship opportunities for ASU students to promote democratic resilience across Europe.
We appreciate @MZEZ_RS's ongoing support for EDDE.…
EDDE was created by the Slovenian government’s Centre for European Perspective (CEP) and the State Department in October 2017. The State Department funds EDDE, while CEP executes it. One of EDDE’s co-founders and directors, Matthew (Matt) Jacobs, is an ASU alumni who has worked in the State Department since 2013. Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Bill Russo credited Jacobs for making the initiative possible.
Russo told State Press that ASU was “fertile ground” for foreign affairs and creating “a pipeline of talent” for State Department hires. Russo dismissed concerns that the partnership would be influenced by government interests.
“What we [the federal government] are offering here is independent and rigorous research that is not influenced by the U.S. government,” said Russo.
Good morning from Arizona!
I’ll be out west for the next few days, meeting with students, academics, elected officials, and other community leaders to discuss why foreign policy matters here at home and how the @StateDept delivers for the American people every day. pic.twitter.com/nG2Mt8o6v6
In EDDE’s most recent guide published last summer, the program outlined a four-step approach for how governments should handle disinformation: compiling a database documenting disinformation by identifying its sources and collecting occurrences of it; creating media campaigns and a call-to-action network among government officials to uniformly counter disinformation; investigating those who repeatedly disseminate disinformation and enacting policies against them, such having social media platforms label them as disinformation spreaders; and punishing those who spread disinformation with hate speech bans, sanctions, and country bans.
EDDE also suggested certain tactics for gaining government trust online, such as issuing informal or trendy content. EDDE also suggested amplifying citizens’ content to create positive feedback loops between the government and citizens.
“Occasional, intentional ‘off-brand’ messages should be strategically deployed to maintain interest of, amuse, delight, or even surprise audiences and make them take action,” stated the guide. “By differing somewhat from government messaging, this type of content is more likely to be perceived as independent and credible by those who are suspicious of the government and may move them closer to the government than they were before encountering a partially-aligned message from a non-government communicator.”
Be A Digital Diplomat Compendium is now FREELY AVAILABLE!
— European Digital Diplomacy Exchange – EDDE (@EDDEplomacy) June 20, 2022
EDDE has trained and advised over 200 high-level government representatives across 19 different countries since its founding, furthering the establishment of a globalist network on information warfare. EDDE announced its recent approval for a three-year renewal earlier this month.
“Participants consistently recognize EDDE as a platform for fostering productive regional cooperation, transcending borders to achieve common goals,” stated EDDE. “EDDE achieves these goals by developing and enhancing national-level digital strategic communication strategies and counter-disinformation policies, not only bolstering public trust in government communications but also combatting the influence of disinformation.”
As part of their renewal, EDDE received another $500,000 last month from the State Department to produce “shared, substantive global outcomes” through September 2025. To date, EDDE has received over $1.2 million in federal funding since 2018.
From March through November of last year, $21,500 of that federal funding went toward establishing a joint counter-disinformation campaign concerning the Russia-Ukraine war.
In 2020, the U.S. Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Office of Public Diplomacy (EUR/PPD) used EDDE to develop COVID-19 safety information and contract-tracing apps for governments provided by tech sector leaders including Google and Apple.
In its 2023 annual performance plan, the State Department declared a performance goal, “Demand for Democracy,” to establish a five percent increase in citizen ability to counter disinformation and propaganda by Sept. 30, 2026. “Disinformation” wasn’t mentioned in the department’s prior annual plans.
The goal was expanded in the department’s 2024 annual performance plan. As part of this expanded goal, the State Department expressed its intent to host the 2027 World Expo in the U.S. and establish a three-country study on Media Literacy training programs.
The State Department is currently undertaking an evaluation activity, “Measures to Limit the Spread of Disinformation and Shape the Information Environment Cases Outcomes Meta-Assessment” through December. The evaluation by the Global Engagement Center (GEC) — an entity established by former President Barack Obama and refined by Arizona’s late Senator John McCain — pertains to the department goal of confronting the rise in “global disinformation” and its negative effects on domestic security and prosperity.
Approaches within this assessment include “digital and media literacy training; fact-checking, labeling, and nudges; factual and positive messaging, information campaigns, and pre-bunking; training and capacity building; independent media support; open-internet access tools; and detection and monitoring efforts.”
The State Department conducted two evaluations similar to the ongoing evaluation from September 2020 to February 2022 and March 2021 to December 2022, respectively, called the “Media Literacy Program (Eastern Europe and Eurasia) Evaluation” and the “Media Literacy Training Evaluation.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
