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

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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Arizona Poll Finds Abe Hamadeh Has 23-Point Lead in House Race, Buoyed by Endorsements from Trump, Lake

Abe Hamadeh

Abe Hamadeh holds a commanding, 23-point lead in the Republican primary race for the election for the House seat being vacated by Representative Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) according to an internal poll published on Wednesday. The pollsters suggest Hamadeh’s early endorsements from former President Donald Trump and U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake may prove instrumental in securing the support of Arizona Republicans.

The National Public Affairs poll, published by German-owned Politico, found Hamadeh, who last ran to become Arizona Attorney General, has the support of 37 percent of Republicans in the district. Former Senate candidate Blake Masters was the only other candidate to reach double digits, polling in second with 14 percent.

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Arizona House Launches Censorship Probe after Hobbs’ Big Tech Emails Go Public

The Arizona House has launched an investigation into the censorship requests by Governor Katie Hobbs, including those revealed by Arizona Capitol Oversight, and those made by other state government officials.

House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) created the panel late last week, enlisting Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) to serve as its chair. In what Kolodin called “an interesting coincidence,” the panel was created the same day Arizona Capitol Oversight released an 8 page report revealing several of Hobbs’ censorship requests to Facebook and Twitter, including one against a member of the Arizona Legislature.

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Legislative Houses Combine in New Committee to Study Arizona’s Water Supply

Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) and Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) announced Tuesday that members of both houses will collaborate in a new ad hoc committee relating to the state’s water supply.

“The availability of water for the success of all industries in our state is critical to our economy,” said Speaker Toma. “Strengthening our existing water resources while we secure our future water supply is a top priority as we work to achieve common-sense solutions for our state. We need to study all issues related to water carefully and work to identify any remaining issues that need to be resolved.”

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