Clean and accurate voter rolls are a cornerstone to safe and secure elections. And they are required by both state and federal law. Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) specifically obligates states to conduct a general program that makes a reasonable effort to remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters due to death or change of residence. The U.S. Supreme Court even backed this up in its 2018 decision in the case Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute.
But Arizona’s current Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and its former Secretary of State (now Governor) Katie Hobbs have failed to perform the necessary voter list maintenance. And right now, 14 Arizona counties are in violation of Section 8 of the NVRA…
The secretary of state may face a lawsuit come November if he fails to clean up alleged dirty voter rolls in 14 counties.
In a letter submitted Tuesday, Arizona Free Enterprise Club President and Executive Director Scott Mussi — in his capacity as a voter — accused Secretary of State Adrian Fontes of not following Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
The pre-litigation letter alleged that four Arizona counties reported having more voters than voting-age adult citizens, per public voter registration records compared with Census Bureau data. These were identified as Apache County with 117.4 percent voter registration rate, La Paz County with 100.5 percent voter registration rate, Navajo County with 100.1 percent voter registration rate, and Santa Cruz County with 112.6 percent voter registration rate.
The letter also alleged that nine counties have voter registration rates exceeding 90 percent of adult citizens over 18 years old, and one county with its voter registration rate exceeding 80 percent, which outpace national voter registration rates in recent years. These counties were identified as Cochise (93.4 percent), Coconino (93.6 percent), Gila (90.6 percent), Maricopa (97.8 percent), Mohave (95.2 percent), Pima (92 percent), Pinal (91.8 percent), Yavapai (99 percent), Yuma (94.3 percent), and Graham Counties (81.1 percent).
The national voter registration rate sits at around 69.1 percent, per the Census Bureau. In Arizona, those rates were 76.4 percent in 2020 and 68.6 percent in 2018.
As of last month, there were nearly 4.2 million registered voters. Independent voters lead with 1.45 million registrants (34.5 percent), followed by Republicans with 1.44 million (34.4 percent), Democrats with 1.26 million (30 percent), Libertarians with 33,700 (0.8 percent), and No Labels members with 8,500 (0.2 percent).
“Discrepancies on this scale almost certainly cannot be attributed to above-average voter participation, but instead point to deficient list maintenance,” stated the letter.
Attention AZ Voters! August marks ONE YEAR until the 2024 primary elections. Practicing your civic duty and responsibility to vote starts with making a plan! Mark your calendars for August 6, 2024. pic.twitter.com/NxgBxsMOAu
— Arizona Secretary of State (@AZSecretary) August 6, 2023
The letter requested that Fontes modify the current list maintenance procedures to identify and remove individuals who are ineligible to vote due to a change in residence, incarceration, death, or those ineligible for other reasons.
Arizona voters weren’t alone in this endeavor. Also on Tuesday, Virginia voters filed a similar pre-litigation letter accusing the Virginia Commissioner of Elections Susan Beals of similar NVRA negligence across 101 counties. The Honest Elections Project (HEP) assisted both Arizona and Virginia voters in their pre-litigation notices. The voters gave their respective election leaders 90 days to comply with the NVRA, and 45 days to respond to the letter.
The requested response would include details of the NVRA compliance efforts, policies, and programs Fontes has taken or plans to take prior to the 2024 general election, along with complete timelines and results for any ongoing plans.
In a press release, Mussi said that it wasn’t only Fontes but the former secretary of state Katie Hobbs, now governor, which were to blame for the dirty voter rolls.
“It is apparent that Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and his predecessor have failed to perform the necessary voter list maintenance required by state and federal law,” said Mussi. “Clean and accurate voter rolls are a cornerstone to safe and secure elections, and we expect that our election officials will address these issues as quickly as possible.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Arizona Republican Legislators continue to share their concerns about the progression of the latest Election Procedure Manual (EPM).
On Friday, Arizona State Representatives Michael Carbone and Steve Montenegro issued a press release, “criticizing an extremely short public comment period set by Secretary of State Adrian Fontes for his 2023 EPM.” They demanded that Fontes “extend the deadline for public comment” after the state’s election chief set the deadline for August 15.
✅FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE✅ State Representatives @SteveMontenegro & @MichaelCarbone Urge Secretary Fontes to Extend Public Comment Period for 2023 Elections Procedures Manual.
— Arizona House Republicans (@AZHouseGOP) August 4, 2023
In a statement, Carbone said, “Requiring public comments to be submitted by August 15th is simply too restrictive and does not provide adequate time for interested stakeholders to review the draft 2023 EPM for compliance with state law. It is our understanding that several provisions have already been identified that appear to run afoul of state law. We urge Secretary Fontes to extend the public comment deadline to at least September 1, 2023, to give the public an adequate opportunity to review and provide input on the most important elections manual that will guide county officials in administering their duties in the 2024 elections.”
Montenegro added, “The Elections Procedures Manual is of paramount importance to ensuring the integrity and security of election administration in Arizona. Secretary Fontes should have given the public more than 15 days to review his extensive 259-page draft of the EPM and submit comments. A longer comment period is particularly necessary and reasonable this year because Arizona has not had a legally compliant EPM since 2019.”
Carbone and Montenegro encouraged “Arizona voters to participate in the process to keep both elected and unelected election officers transparent and accountable” by submitting public comments to the draft EPM.
On Tuesday, August 1, Secretary Fontes commenced the 15-day public comment period for the 2023 EPM. Fontes wrote, “As a former County Recorder, I understand how important this manual is for the dedicated Arizonans who are entrusted with one of the toughest and most important jobs in our democracy. In an atmosphere of heightened scrutiny of our elections, local and county officials need clear guidance based on law. Now that we are at the start of our public comment period, I look forward to continuing this important conversation about a document that is essential to the running of safe, secure, and accurate elections in every corner of our state.”
For public comment, please use the web form at the same link before Aug 15. Happy reading!https://t.co/Td57qaHjD3
Fontes emphasized the input that had already gone into the drafting of the EPM, assuring readers “It is important that the people who administer Arizona’s elections – the statutorily required stakeholders – be given the first opportunity to suggest changes. He revealed that his office had initiated “a series of monthly meetings with local and county election officials to suggest changes and garner feedback.”
The warning from Carbone and Montenegro follows a recent letter that was transmitted to Secretary Fontes by Representatives Jacqueline Parker and Alexander Kolodin, who highlighted certain issues with the initial copy of the EPM that they had seen from his office. That letter from the two legislators, written just days before Fontes allowed the public to view the document, identified eight possible violations of Arizona statutes in four chapters of the draft EPM. The legislators commented that they “are looking forward to seeing these provisions addressed prior to the EPM’s submittal to the Governor and the Attorney General on October 1, 2023.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Independent voters are now the largest voting group in Arizona, toppling the Republican Party for the first time in years.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ office advised ABC 15 of this change earlier this month, pending the upcoming publication of their quarterly voter registration report. Independent voters last outranked both the Republican and Democratic parties in 2016.
The most current data available on the secretary of state’s website, from April, registered over 1.43 million independent voters.
In two months, that number grew to surpass the leading number of Republican voters at the time, which was just over 1.44 million. Democratic voters totaled over 1.26 million. The “No Labels” party at the time had 17 voters total; the secretary of state’s office also disclosed that the party had grown to around 6,000.
Libertarian voters registered at over 33,300 in April.
Last year, the number of registered independent voters decreased from over 1.44 million in April to just over 1.4 million in the general election. Republican voters decreased from over 1.47 million to over 1.43 million; Democratic voters decreased from 1.33 million to 1.27 million.
At the time of the 2020 election, which had more registered voters than in April, there were over 1.35 million independent voters. Republicans had over 1.5 million registered voters, while Democrats had over 1.37 million.
The 2016 general election — which had over 815,600 less voters registered than the most recent registration counts — had over 1.21 million independent voters compared to over 1.23 million Republican voters and just over 1 million Democratic voters. Although the number of registered independent voters increased from May to November 2016, there were more to register as Republican during the same time frame.
The 2016 general election broke a two-year streak in which more voters registered as independents than anything else. Midway through former President Barack Obama’s second term, more registered as independents than Republicans. There were around 900,000 less registered voters at the time.
Ahead of last year’s midterm election, some candidates sought to appeal to the growing base of independents.
In this century, independents first outranked Democrats after the 2010 midterm election. In July 2011, registered independent voters (over 1 million) surpassed registered Democratic voters (over 999,000).
Independent voters have maintained that lead on Democratic voters since then — 12 years.
The shift in 2011 also marked the first session in which Republicans enjoyed their largest majority in the state legislature since 1981: 21 Republicans to 9 Democrats in the Senate, and 40 Republicans to 20 Democrats in the House. Since then, the majority has dwindled. This session, there’s a slim majority: 15 Republicans to 14 Democrats in the Senate, and 31 Republicans to 29 Democrats in the House.
Independent voters may vote in all primaries except presidential.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Arizona’s recently passed budget continues to divide Democrats as they bemoan Governor Katie Hobbs’ failure to negotiate more progressive additions.
Before the new budget was approved by the Arizona Legislature and signed into law, Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes tweeted, “The present form of the budget proposal fails to fulfill the requirements we’ve conveyed to the Governor and the Legislature. This is because relying on one-time funds cannot address our urgent need for a larger number of SOS staff to boost IT security and offer technical support to the counties. As elections are critical infrastructure, the current budget proposal neglects the significance of maintaining the security and quality of our elections over time.”
The present form of the budget proposal fails to fulfill the requirements we've conveyed to the Governor and the Legislature. 1/3
— Arizona Secretary of State (@AZSecretary) May 9, 2023
After the budget was signed by Governor Hobbs, a Republican lawmaker alleged more discontentment from Fontes. Freshman Representative Austin Smith wrote, “During a House Elections Committee meeting this year @Adrian_Fontes came to testify for the ballot images bill to @electjacqparker, @realAlexKolodin, @azjustinheap, @RJ4arizonaand me. Fontes was storming through the State House yesterday cussing because he didn’t get what he wanted in the state budget for his left-wing pet projects. You CAN question ANYTHING in this country including elections. Only actual fascists and democracy frauds like Adrian Fontes hate it. Pound sand, @Adrian_Fontes.”
A few other individuals added some insight to this revelation by Smith, including Representative Jacqueline Parker, who stated: “Maybe if he stopped calling us fascists & working against us, & did his job better we would care about funding his department more… if I was in charge, A LOT more government agencies would have received much less funding. I thought he was treated too generously, considering…”
Maybe if he stopped calling us fascists & working against us, & did his job better we would care about funding his department more… 🤔 if I was in charge, A LOT more government agencies would have received much less funding. I thought he was treated too generously, considering… https://t.co/Tw4V2t16Qs
— Rep. Jacqueline Parker (@electjacqparker) May 11, 2023
Representative Justin Heap said, “Uh oh. SofS Adrian Fontes is fuming about the Budget! He just discovered that the House Elections Committee made sure we stripped his control over millions of HAVA dollars he planned to use to “fortify” our elections. Tough break, Man. Seeya at the Joint Oversight Committee!”
Uh oh. SofS Adrian Fontes is fuming about the Budget! He just discovered that the House Elections Committee made sure we stripped his control over millions of HAVA dollars he planned to use to "fortify" our elections. Tough break, Man. Seeya at the Joint Oversight Committee! https://t.co/gF7JYSfsNC
— Az State Rep. Justin Heap (@azjustinheap) May 13, 2023
Jen Wright, a former top attorney in Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s administration, tweeted, “Why would Sec. Fontes storm thru the AZ State House upset about the budget? Maybe because @realAlexKolodin & the @AZHouseGOP, & @AZSenateGOP refused to give him unfettered access to the MILLIONS in HAVA money that he had requested? #ElectionIntegrityHeroes #ThankALegislator”
Why would Sec. Fontes storm thru the AZ State House upset about the budget?
Another freshman representative, Alexander Kolodin, responded to Wright’s post, saying, “Oh Gina Swaboda and I went through his budget MOST carefully. A little legislative oversight never hurt, right?”
Oh Gina Swaboda and I went through his budget MOST carefully. A little legislative oversight never hurt, right? https://t.co/VU4lYg3GZS
— Rep. Alexander Kolodin (@realAlexKolodin) May 12, 2023
Senator Wendy Rogers also chimed in to praise Kolodin for his contributions to the budget: “@repalexkolodin applies THE finest-toothed comb of anybody I know on planet earth… seriously. Picayune. Wonkish. But freakin’ sharp. I’m glad he’s on our side, is all I can say.”
@repalexkolodin applies THE finest-toothed comb of anybody I know on planet earth… seriously. Picayune. Wonkish. But freakin’ sharp. I’m glad he’s on our side, is all I can say. https://t.co/YX7buABIpg
Fontes’ issues with the budget follow the high-profile pushback from Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes, which occurred before the budget was passed and signed into law. Mayes previously sent a letter to Hobbs and members of the Legislature, writing, “The Legislature and Governor need to go back to work and produce a budget that is in the best interest of all Arizonans. We need a budget that funds essential state services that protect the well-being and safety of all Arizonans. I will continue to fight, especially for our most vulnerable residents, as well as the dedicated, hard-working public servants in the Attorney General’s Office.”
Mayes also threatened legal action if the Legislature swept “the authority of the Attorney General to direct funds received through consent judgments against several pharmaceutical companies for their roles in the opioid crisis.” Republican Representative David Livingston fired back against those statements, tweeting, “Attorney General Mayes should learn the facts first, and accurately convey those facts in committee hearings, before making demands and threats to sue the Legislature and the Governor over the budget.”
Attorney General Mayes should learn the facts first, and accurately convey those facts in committee hearings, before making demands and threats to sue the Legislature and the Governor over the budget. @AZHouseGOPpic.twitter.com/SFnElYhUtv
