Tag: Election Procedures Manual

Federal Court Blocks Arizona from Election Manual Changes to Regulate Speech, ‘Disenfranchise’ Voters over Delayed Certification

Tom Pappert
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Liburdi

A federal judge on Friday night issued a ruling that blocks changes to the Election Procedures Manual (EPM) attempted by Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes that would have restricted speech and potentially forfeited votes from entire counties who declined to comply with deadlines set by the state.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Liburdi, who was nominated by former President Donald Trump, temporarily blocked Fontes’ proposed rule change that would give his office the power to decline to accept the votes from an Arizona county that refused to certify its ballots, even if local officials presented concerns about fraud.

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Arizona Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments from Arizona Republican Party Appealing Sanctions over Election Lawsuit, Grills Opposing Attorney

Rachel Alexander
Arizona Supreme Court

The Arizona Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week from the Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) and opposing litigant Secretary of State (AZSOS) over lower courts awarding sanctions against the AZGOP for filing a “groundless” lawsuit “in bad faith.” The AZGOP sued Arizona officials immediately after the 2020 election for conducting a post-election audit that the AZGOP contended did not comply with the law. The AZGOP said the law required the audit to be conducted at the precinct level, but the audit was conducted at the voting center level according to the state’s Election Procedures Manual (EPG), which the AZGOP claimed contradicted state law. 

The AZGOP said A.R.S. § 16-602 requires precinct-level audits. The relevant part of that statute, (B)(1), provides, “ At least two percent of the precincts in that county, or two precincts, whichever is greater, shall be selected at random from a pool consisting of every precinct in that county.” In contrast, the EPM states that in counties which utilize vote centers, vote centers will be used for the audits. 

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Progressive Election Lawyer Marc Elias Attacks New Election Integrity Lawsuits in Arizona, Claims Republicans Want to Cheat

Rachel Alexander

Republicans have filed five election integrity lawsuits recently in Arizona, attracting the ire of election fraud denier and progressive attorney Marc Elias.

Elias issued a video last week analyzing some of the lawsuits, which he described as “anti-voting lawsuits” that seek to make it “harder to vote and easier to cheat,” part of a “plan Republicans have to undermine elections and suppress voters.”

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Maricopa County Judge Recuses Himself from Election-Related Case Due to Activist Brother’s Social Media Posts Denigrating Republican Election Lawsuits

Rachel Alexander
Judge

Opposition is increasing to the judges assigned to handle election related lawsuits in Arizona, as their biases are being revealed. After Arizona Senate Majority leader Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) and House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) requested that Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Tim Ryan recuse himself from their lawsuit challenging the state’s Election Procedures Manual (EPM) because of his progressive activist older brother’s posts on X, Ryan voluntarily recused himself. 

The Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus issued an announcement praising the recusal. “His brother, Tom Ryan, is a liberal attorney who plagues social media with his contempt for the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature with an incessant number of juvenile posts,” the statement said. “There is no way anyone who has witnessed the antics of Judge Ryan’s brother, which included case-specific criticisms and commentary, can credibly believe that Judge Ryan could give the Legislature a fair trial.”

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Arizona Free Enterprise Club Files Lawsuit Against Adrian Fontes over ‘Illegal’ and ‘Most Radical’ Elections Procedures Manual in Arizona’s History

Rachel Alexander

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AFEC) filed a lawsuit last week against Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, accusing him of making illegal changes to the state’s Election Procedures Manual (EPM). Represented by the America First Policy Institute, Davillier Law Group, and Grand Canyon Legal Center, AFEC said the revisions improperly place protected political speech at risk of criminal prosecution and have an unconstitutional chilling effect on protected political speech.

“Secretary Fontes has produced one of the most radical elections procedures manuals in our state’s history,” said Scot Mussi, AFEC’s president. “If the illegal provisions of this manual are allowed to stand, the integrity and transparency of state elections would continue to dissipate at the hands of leftwing ideologues. We hope the court agrees with our arguments and forces the Secretary to adhere to state law.”

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