Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes modified the state’s election rulebook to comply with a court ruling, removing a provision for certifying election results without every county’s compliance.
Fontes, a Democrat, had to contend with Republican legal challenges in 2024 stemming from his handling of the Election Procedures Manual — which serves as a guideline for how to run elections.
A new version of the EPM must be submitted and approved every two years. Over the past few election cycles, the manual has gotten more scrutiny.
“This manual has always been the backbone for how Arizona runs elections but in today’s environment it carries more weight than ever and what was once just a technical guide for elections officials is now a document that is rightly scrutinized by the public the press and the courts,” Fontes said in a video message.
Republicans challenged Fontes for overstepping his authority when he drafted the 2023 EPM.
One subject of contention was a provision asserting the state’s power to confirm election results even if one county were to hold out.
Fontes removed that provision in the most recent draft of the EPM, which was released on Friday. Still, Fontes reaffirmed the legal requirement for county officials to certify results.
“The Board of Supervisors has a nondiscretionary duty to canvass. That is the law in Arizona regardless of what some people think so we've spelled it out,” he said.
That provision was inspired by Cochise County Republican supervisors who resisted certifying Democratic wins in 2022.
Another provision Fontes introduced which received pushback, was redefining prohibited voter intimidation and harassment.
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club — which sued Fontes — argued that his provisions on that topic were far too broad. The 2023 manual had rules against disruptive behavior, which elections officials could use as a reason to kick someone out of a polling location. A judge agreed.
But Republicans challenged Fontes for overstepping his authority when he drafted the 2023 elections manual.
Republican Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) said he’s reviewing this year’s draft now.
The public has the opportunity to make comments to the Secretary of State’s Office regarding any concerns about the EPM for the next month.
On Oct. 1, the EPM will be submitted to the governor and attorney general for approval.
Fontes said his office has been in close communication with counties, the governor’s office and the attorney general’s office about the draft manual.
“We’ve been working with all 15 counties for different stages of the manual. We would release a certain number of chapters to the counties, they would make comments, we would have meetings then we would move on to the next section,” Fontes said.
The new EPM also incorporates some new state election laws and accommodates requests from counties.
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