Tag: Secretary of State Adrian Fontes

Katie Hobbs Used State Resources for Censorship ‘Volunteers’ Who Monitored Twitter for ‘Misinformation’ in 2022 Arizona Elections: Email

Tom Pappert
Gov. Katie Hobbs

An email surfaced by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) on Tuesday revealed Governor Katie Hobbs used government resources to facilitate a volunteer force that flagged “misinformation” ahead of the 2022 election, including on Election Day.

The legal organization explained that it revealed the email through an Arizona Public Records Law request to the Arizona Secretary of State which requested communications between Hobbs’ office and social media platforms Twitter, Facebook and Instagram between January 7, 2019 and January 1, 2023.

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Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes Frustrated Biden Justice Department Won’t Prosecute ‘Threats Against Election Administrators’

Tom Pappert

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) expressed “frustration” with the Biden administration during a Monday interview with Rolling Stone in which he claimed Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice should be targeting those who make “threats” to election workers and administrators.

Fontes called Garland a “cautious” person and asserted “he is being far too cautious here, when it comes to these investigations and prosecutions of threats against election administrators and election workers.”

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Arizona Legislature Expected to Sue Secretary of State Adrian Fontes over ‘Politically Loaded Election Manual’

Tom Pappert

The Arizona Legislature is expected to file a lawsuit against Secretary of State Adrian Fontes 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.”

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State Election Officials Say They Will Defer to the Courts on Removing Trump from 2024 Ballot

Admin

Top election officials in multiple states have said they would defer to the courts on the question of removing former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot.

Lawsuits to remove Trump from the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars certain government officials who took an oath to the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” from holding office, have been filed in a number of states, including Colorado, Michigan, and Minnesota. Democratic and Republican secretaries of state in places where lawsuits have been filed say this is a question the courts need to weigh in on, according to multiple reports.

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AFEC Warns Arizona Secretary of State ‘Snark Doesn’t Get the Job Done’ in Dispute Over Voter Rolls

Tom Pappert

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AFEC) warned Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) it will bring a federal lawsuit against him over his alleged failure to maintain accurate voter lists in Arizona. AFEC gave the state until November 6 to rectify these issues, or else the non-profit will launch a federal lawsuit against Fontes.

In a report stating there are more registered voters than residents, or an “abnormally high” number of registered voters, in 14 of Arizona’s 15 counties, AFEC said it sent its letter to Fontes on August 8, urging him to “take his job as Secretary of State seriously” or face legal action.

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Arizona Secretary of State Fontes Will Publish Public Comments on 2023 Elections Procedures Manual

Hannah Poling

A spokesperson for Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told The Arizona Sun Times that the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office will publish all public comments on the 2023 Election Procedure Manual on the website after a review of comments has been completed.

“The comments will be made public after staff has a chance to review. Once that review is complete, it will be posted on the Secretary of State’s website,” the spokesperson told The Sun Times.

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Arizona Republican Lawmakers Want Transparency and Publication of Public Comments on 2023 Elections Procedures Manual

Hannah Poling

Arizona Republican lawmakers demanded that Secretary of State Adrian Fontes publish all public comments on the 2023 Election Procedure Manual on the Arizona Secretary of State’s website to demonstrate his commitment to transparency.

This follows State Representatives Steve Montenegro (R-Goodyear) and Michael Carbone (R-Buckeye) requesting that Fontes extend the “extremely short” deadline for public comment on the 259-page manual, which he refused.

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Republican Lawmakers Urge Secretary Fontes to Extend Public Comment Period for 2023 Arizona Elections Procedures Manual

Hannah Poling

Arizona Republican lawmakers are urging Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to extend the deadline for public comment on the 2023 Election Procedure Manual.

State Representatives Steve Montenegro (R-Goodyear) and Michael Carbone (R-Buckeye) are calling on Fontes to extend the “extremely short” public comment period he set for the 2023 Elections Procedure Manual. Fontes released the manual draft on August 1st and set the deadline for August 15th, even though he is not required to produce it to Governor Katie Hobbs or Attorney General Kris Mayes until October 1st.

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Maricopa County Report Identifies Glaring Election Errors as Lake, Finchem Challenges Continue

Just the News

While Maricopa County released a report on the election failures of the 2022 elections, Arizona election lawsuits continue as 2022 GOP nominees Kari Lake and Mark Finchem file motions for reconsideration in their respective races for governor and secretary of state.

On Monday, Maricopa County released a report by former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor on the causes of the ballot printer issues that occurred at more than 70 vote centers on Election Day last year, which resulted in long lines as many voters’ ballots were unreadable by tabulator machines.

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Arizona Free Enterprise Club Sues State over Early Ballot Signature Verification Process

Neil Jones

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club filed a lawsuit against the state Monday, alleging that the early ballot signature verification process outlined in the Elections Procedures Manual (EPM) violates state law.

“The signature presented on an early ballot affidavit is the fulcrum on which the integrity of that ballot pivots; it is the only means by which the county recorder can verify that a person casting an early ballot by mail is, in fact, a duly qualified elector,” according to the lawsuit. “And given the centrality of early ballots to elections in this state, signature verification is also foundational to the overall integrity of Arizona’s elections.”

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Kari Lake Attorney Tim LaSota on Adrian Fontes’s Investigation Request: ‘Another Attempt to Weaponize the Justice System’

Neil Jones

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) sent a letter to Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) Monday, requesting she investigates Republican Kari Lake for allegedly violating state law by sharing images of voter signatures on social media. Tim LaSota, one of Lake’s attorneys, accused Fontes of selectively quoting the law to defame Lake.

“This is becoming all too common in politics – another attempt to weaponize the justice system with a phony allegation against a Republican. Adrian Fontes selectively quotes the statute in an attempt to distort the law and smear Kari Lake in the process. Kris Mayes should immediately say that she will have no part in this shameful, disgusting effort,” LaSota said in a statement emailed to The Arizona Sun Times.

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State Representatives Seek Answers from Arizona Secretary of State over Elections Manual Concerns

Neil Jones

Arizona State Reps. Jacqueline Parker (R-Mesa) and Alexander Kolodin (R-Maricopa) sent an inquiry to new Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D), asking if he seeks to remedy errors in the state’s Elections Procedures Manual (EPM).

“Recent Arizona court decisions give us serious concerns about the lawfulness of former Secretary Hobbs’ 2019 EPM and 2021 draft EPM. Arizona law purports to authorize the EPM to achieve and maintain the maximum degree of correctness, impartiality, uniformity and efficiency in voting procedures throughout the state. But we question whether these mandates have been followed. We hope Secretary Fontes more fully evaluates where the prior Secretary overstepped her bounds and look forward to hearing how those errors will be corrected,” Reps. Parker and Kolodin said in a joint statement.

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