by Staff Reporter | Mar 9, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled against the Elections Procedures Manual (EPM) produced by Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.
Judge Lacey Gard reversed and remanded a lower court decision dismissing the case, Republican National Committee, et al. vs. Adrian Fontes, et al., last summer. Gard ruled the EPM fell under the Arizona Administrative Procedure Act (APA), a “plain reading” of the statute contrary to what the lower court ruled. Gard also dismissed Fontes’ arguments for his right to not comply with the APA because the APA and EPM statutes conflict.
“[The APA] unambiguously states that all agencies are subject to the APA’s rulemaking procedures unless ‘expressly exempted,’” stated Gard. “The APA and EPM statutes impose duties on the Secretary that may require him to begin promulgating the EPM earlier, but they are not inconsistent, do not directly conflict, and do not create impossible barriers to complying with both.”
Gard further ruled Fontes violated the APA by not allowing public comment on the proposed EPM for the full 30 days, instead only opening up review for 15 days.
Gard noted at the end of her ruling that she wouldn’t address other claims by the Republican National Committee challenging eight specific provisions of the EPM, since she arrived at the conclusion that Fontes’ promulgation of the 2023 EPM failed to “substantially comply” with requirements set forth by the APA for the rulemaking process.
The Republican Party of Arizona (AZGOP) sued Fontes over the EPM last February, along with the Arizona legislature leadership at the time (Senate President Warren Petersen and then-House Speaker Ben Toma) and the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. In a statement on Thursday’s ruling, the AZGOP claimed the appeals court found the EPM to be unconstitutional.
AZGOP Chair Gina Swoboda said the ruling confirmed the extent of the unlawfulness of Fontes’ EPM in the Thursday statement. Swoboda characterized Fontes and his EPM as an attempt “from the radical left to illegally assume control” of Arizona elections.
“This opinion from the court shows just how much Secretary Fontes and his allies in the Governor’s and Attorney General’s offices overreached in their partisan efforts to hijack our elections through this blatantly political manual,” said Swoboda. “As we have highlighted to the court, the most-recent elections manual contained many provisions that ran utterly contrary to Arizona law, giving the Democrat machine a clear advantage at the ballot box for years to come.”
Beyond the lack of compliance with APA, GOP leaders’ objections to the Fontes EPM concerned conflicts with state election law: accepting voters who declared themselves noncitizens on juror questionnaires; allowing voters who failed to submit or couldn’t achieve verification of their Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC); allowing first-time, federal-only voters to provide only an ID and not DPOC for mail-in voting; not requiring county recorders to check federal databases for citizenship reviews; restricting public review of voter signatures on mail ballots; allowing Active Early Voting List voters to receive ballots outside the state for certain elections; requiring denial of early ballot challenges received prior to the return of an early ballot; and allowing out-of-precinct voters to cast provisional ballots.
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by Daniel Stefanski | Dec 21, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona Republicans scored a significant victory in court over the state’s top elections official.
On Thursday, Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma championed a recent court ruling from Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney over contested provisions within the 2023 Arizona Elections Procedures Manual (EPM). According to a release issued by the Arizona House of Representatives, “the court sided with Speaker [Ben] Toma and Senate President Warren Petersen in their legal challenge, declaring that the Secretary overstepped his authority and infringed on the Legislature’s exclusive lawmaking powers.”
Speaker Toma released a statement in reaction to the decision, saying, “This is a clear victory for the rule of law, the separation of powers, and the integrity of our elections. The Legislature is the lawmaking body of this state, and today’s decision reaffirms that foundational principle. Secretary Fontes attempted to overstep his authority, but the court recognized these actions for what they were – unlawful and unenforceable. I am proud to have led this fight to protect the constitutional role of the Legislature and to ensure that Arizona’s election laws are upheld as written. It’s a win for all Arizonans who value fair, transparent, and accountable election policies.”
President Petersen said, “A win today on our lawsuit against the Secretary of State. Judge said the SOS exceeded his lawful authority at least 4 times in his drafting of the elections procedure manual. The voter rolls must be cleaned up.”
In a comment to AZ Free News, Petersen added, “We’re disappointed that the judge delayed the effective date of the AEVL provision but everything else was a big win. We will continue to do all we can to secure our elections and boost voter confidence.”
Arizona House Republicans shared that the court ruling “invalidated multiple provisions in the EPM, including:
- A rule altering how voter registrations are managed for non-residents, in violation of Arizona statutes.
- A rule excusing errors in circulator registrations, undermining strict compliance requirements for initiatives and referendums.
- A rule limiting the role of county Boards of Supervisors during the canvassing process and improperly allowing the Secretary to exclude county results from the statewide canvass.”
While this past election cycle has come and gone, Fontes will have one more opportunity to fashion an EPM before the next one, and he has Democrat allies in Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes to potentially rubberstamp his schemes yet again. Arizona legislative Republicans are awaiting the next installment of the EPM to ensure that any out-of-order provisions will be quickly discovered and challenged in court to protect the integrity of Arizona elections.
Fontes dropped the current EPM just before the statute-mandated deadline of December 31, 2023, after securing approvals from Hobbs and Mayes. For the first time since 1978-1979, Democrats controlled 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 Elections Procedures Manual without initial interference from opposing political voices, as required by law every two years.
At the end of January, Petersen and Toma filed a challenge in Maricopa County Superior Court over Fontes’ EPM, which has been ongoing up until (and through) this week’s decision.
When the EPM was published at the end of last year, 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.
by Daniel Stefanski | Nov 23, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A ballot measure to protect Arizonans from the rise of unabated homelessness in communities was overwhelmingly passed by voters in the General Election.
Earlier this month, Proposition 312 received almost 60% of the vote, cruising to a smooth victory on Election Night. The measure, which was referred to the ballot from the Arizona Legislature, stipulates that “property owners may apply for a tax refund for expenses incurred due to a governing authority’s failure to enforce certain public nuisance laws on or near the owner’s real property.”
The legislative vehicle for the measure, HCR 2023, was sponsored by House Speaker Ben Toma. It passed both chambers in the Arizona Legislature with bipartisan support and was transmitted to the Secretary of State’s Office in March of this year.
In a statement after the successful passage of the bill out of his chamber, Senate President Warren Petersen said, “There are instances where local governments routinely and repeatedly fail their citizens by not enforcing laws. An example of this would be the City of Phoenix’s handling of the former homeless encampment known as ‘The Zone.’ This area was not only a public safety and public health disaster for those who camped there, but it was also a detriment to the livelihoods of small business owners who set up their shops in the area.”
Petersen added, “Money talks, and as a way to encourage municipalities to enforce the law, Speaker Toma and I teamed up to sponsor HCR 2023/SCR 1006. This measure is a ballot referral that would protect law-abiding citizens. If approved by voters, property owners would be allowed to request a refund for expenses incurred to mitigate the problem, up to the amount of their property tax liability. The funds would be deducted from the local government’s state shared revenue.”
Speaker Toma also had said, “Business owners and residents alike are having their property stolen, vandalized, or terrorized and are desperate for help. That’s why I sponsored HCR2023, to hold our local governments accountable to our community members and to help provide some relief for property owners who have suffered damages because of a city’s purposeful failure to provide the public health and safety services we all pay for.”
The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which was instrumental in promoting the proposition, issued a statement following the General Election win, writing, “Arizona voters have sent a clear message: Government, do your job. They do not want our state to become the next San Francisco or Los Angeles. Prop 312 is a win for property owners, businesses, and everyday Arizonans who too often shoulder the costs of unaddressed homelessness.”
The Goldwater Institute, which also pushed for Prop 312’s passage, also took a well-deserved victory lap after the positive result. The organization’s President and CEO, Victor Riches, stated, “The voters sent a clear message this election cycle: they demand their tax dollars be used to enforce the law and address rampant homelessness. Now that Prop 312 is law, business and property owners will not be left holding the bag when municipalities refuse to do their job.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Nov 17, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona House Republicans have chosen their new leadership team for the upcoming term of office.
Last week, Arizona House Republicans met to elect their new team of leaders for the next two years. Representative Steve Montenegro received enough votes to become the next Speaker of the House, replacing outgoing leader Ben Toma. Representative Michael Carbone was elected as Majority Leader, and Representative Julie Willoughby as Majority Whip.
In a statement to accompany the announcement of his victory for Speaker, Montenegro said, “I am deeply honored by the trust my colleagues have placed in me to serve as Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives. Together, we have a strong mandate from Arizonans to advance policies that uphold our principles, promote economic growth, and protect the freedoms and values that define our great state. This opportunity to lead is one I take with great respect for the role and with determination to address the challenges ahead. Our commitment to conservative principles will guide us as we work to secure a bright, prosperous future for every Arizonan.”
Representative Matt Gress posted a picture with the incoming leadership team, writing, “Congratulations to the next Speaker of the Arizona House, Steve Montenegro, along with our new party leaders, Republican Majority Leader, Michael Carbone, and Republican Majority Whip, Julie Willoughby. Under their leadership, the House will deliver common sense solutions for Arizonans. Let’s GOOOO!!”
Unlike the largely unified process and result in the Arizona Senate for Republicans this time around, their legislative allies in the state House of Representatives will have to heal from a speaker’s election that was divided and extremely competitive. To illustrate that point, at least one Arizona House Republican took to X in the aftermath of the speaker’s election to publicly decry the consequences of the result. A unified caucus will be critical to joining with Senate Republicans to stand against Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs’ continued attempts to advance her left-wing priorities in the state over the final two years of her first term in office.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Oct 27, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanksi |
Two Arizona Republicans are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) increased regulation on energy policies affecting many Americans and Arizonans.
Last week, Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma joined a coalition of states and private parties in an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Nebraska v. Environmental Protection Agency. The petitioners are challenging the EPA’s final rule, “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles – Phase 3.”
According to the press release issued by the State Senate Republican Caucus, this newly enacted standard by the EPA would “require by 2032 nearly 70% of all new vehicles and 25% of all new semitrucks or similar heavy-duty vehicles sold in the United States to be electric, guaranteeing to raise the costs of everything Arizonans purchase, and without adequate charging infrastructure in place or the necessary power grid capacity to accommodate the transition.”
In the brief, the coalition argues that “under the Major Questions Doctrine, EPA lacks statutory authority to effectively mandate electric vehicles,” that “EPA lacks statutory authority to set standards that can be met only by averaging in electric vehicles,” and that “EPA’s rule is arbitrary and capricious.”
“Our federal government does not have the power to mandate electric vehicles, and their actions show just how out of touch the Biden-Harris Administration is by creating costly policies that will inflict more financial pain on our citizens who have already been burned by skyrocketing costs over the past three-and-a-half years,” said Senate President Warren Petersen. “The EPA egregiously overstepped its authority with these arbitrary rules, and the negative impact of forcing industries that every American consumer depends on, to make unreasonable and unattainable changes, will be detrimental to our economy. The Arizona Legislature will continue to hold this Administration accountable and defend our citizens from this big government negligence.”
“Hardworking Americans are hurting enough as it is from soaring inflation caused by the Biden-Harris Administration,” said Senator Frank Carroll, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Transportation, Technology & Missing Children. “The last thing we need is for this Administration to prioritize expensive and scientifically baseless polices all in the name of a radical climate change agenda from Democrats that imposes unattainable goals, which will lead to soaring consumer prices. The average working-class citizen or trucking business will cripple under these mandates and the cost of just about every basic essential will increase exponentially.”
The coalition writes, “As in West Virginia, EPA cannot unilaterally reshape the energy and transportation sectors by reimagining its statutory authority. Heavy-duty vehicles transport city commuters, move consumer goods across the country, remove refuse, and harvest our food. The question of whether and how internal-combustion-engine heavy-duty vehicles should be phased out in favor of electric vehicles is hugely consequential: It involves millions of jobs, the restructuring of entire industries, and the Nation’s energy independence. If the federal government is going to require that major shift, then a Congress accountable to the American public must say so. It has not.”
Over the past two years, Petersen and Toma have led a prolific defense of state and federal laws against the Democrat administrations in both the Arizona Governor’s Office and the White House. The lawmakers have long had their sights on the Biden Administration’s environmental and energy policies that have threatened to overhaul the country’s systems.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
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