The Arizona Legislature is expected to file a lawsuit against Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) over his “politically loaded” Elections Procedures Manual (EPM), according to statements made Sunday and Monday by the Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP), House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria), and Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa).
A press release from the AZOP on Sunday “urgently” called attention “to Liberal Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ recent release of the Elections Procedure Manual (EPM), strategically issued at the last minute during a busy holiday weekend.” The party warned, the “timing seems intended to minimize scrutiny and public awareness.”
The party warned the document, which the Arizona Secretary of State issues every two years to establish rules and procedures for conducting elections in Arizona, contains “several deeply concerning elements.” The party warned that Fontes seeks to “criminalize the criticism of election officials by voters,” “criminalize raising voter challenges to poll workers,”
AZGOP warns Fontes also seeks to deny the Republican Party “of its statutorily protected right to choose members of the central count and signature verification board,” which the party explained “means that there will be no independent oversight of key ballot processing and handling tasks.”
Fontes also “purports to get rid of AZGOP’s recent hard-fought court victory in Yavapai county regarding elections workers to use only the voter’s authorized comparison sample to verify signatures on early ballot envelopes.”
With 100 less pages than the previous EPM, the party warned “we are still analyzing what Fontes has removed.” The party wrote that it expects “the State Legislature to launch a lawsuit against Fontes’ extreme overreach, and we are also considering legal action.”
Shortly after the AZGOP posted its press release online, Toma underscored the threat with his own post to X, formerly Twitter.
Toma wrote he is “disappointed” that “Fontes refused to correct many objections we raised in our comment to the EPM draft,” and the House is “preparing for litigation.”
A lawful Elections Procedures Manual is paramount for the integrity of our elections. It’s been a top priority of the @AZHouseGOP. 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.
— Ben Toma (@RepBenToma) December 31, 2023
In his own posts to X on Monday, Arizona State Senate President Warren Petersen explained Fontes was clearly warned about the possibility of litigation.
“We warned [Fontes] early on that we would sue if the [EPM] was not corrected to reflect the laws passed by the legislature. Unfortunately that did not happen,” wrote Petersen, adding that he expects “many plaintiffs” will join the legislature’s legal action.
We witnessed a sad trend in 2023 where the Executive branches led by Democrats blatantly disregard the law. 1. Governor violates confirmation laws. 2. SOS rewrites laws with the EPM. 3. AG fails to fully defend our laws leaving making it necessary for us to intervene.
— Warren Petersen (@votewarren) January 1, 2024
Petersen and Toma previously sent a joint letter to Fontes in August, clearly citing areas of concern that included a failure to follow the 2021 law requiring county officials maintain accurate voter rolls, and highlighting many of the objections raised after Fontes released the document.
At the time, they noted that Fontes “deliberately shortened the typical public comment period on the EPM from one month to two weeks, limiting meaningful feedback.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes” by Gage Skidmore CC2.0.
