Arizona’s Democrat secretary of state failed to comply with existing rules when creating the state’s vote code, an Arizona judge ruled on Thursday.
Writing on behalf of a three-judge panel on the Arizona Court of Appeals, Judge Lacey Gard ruled that Secretary of State Adrian Fontes “did not substantially comply” with the Arizona Administrative Procedure Act’s ( APA ) rulemaking procedures when finalizing the 2023 Election Procedures Manual ( EPM). In Arizona, the EPM provides guidelines to election officials relating to email vote, voter registration, and another election-related things.
According to Gard, Fontes ‘ improper action refers to the EPM’s public opinion time.
In later July 2023, the Democrat director “published a 259-page review EPM, allowing people post for a period of fifteen time”. As overwhelmingly determined by the three-judge board, however, that is “only half the time the APA requires”.
” We conclude that the 2023 EPM was content to the rulemaking process under the APA and that the Secretary did not greatly comply with the APA’s rulemaking operation in promulgating the EPM”, Gard wrote.
Thursday’s decision came as the result of a lawsuit brought by the Republican National Committee, Arizona GOP, and Yavapai County GOP in February 2024.
In their original complaint, the defendants contested Fontes ‘ narrowing of the open comment time for the 2023 EPM and argued that several of the measures included in the direction violated state laws. One of the challenged rules, for example, involved a provision prohibiting county recorders from canceling the voter registration of individuals who “answered a juror questionnaire saying he or she is a non-citizen where that voter has provided]documentary proof of citizenship ] in the past ( or been registered to vote since 2004 )”.
Plaintiffs ‘ request for a preliminary injunction to prevent the EPM’s enforcement in the 2024 election was denied by the superior court, which subsequently granted Fontes ‘ motion to dismiss the suit. This prompted plaintiffs to appeal the decision to the appellate court, which, in October 2024, separately denied a last-minute request by the RNC that sought to enjoin the EPM’s enforcement for the November contest.
According to Gard, the appeals court did so while” cautioning against enjoining election procedures on the eve of an election”.
Thursday’s ruling did not address plaintiffs ‘ challenge to the individual EPM provisions, however. Rather, the appellate court “reverse]d ]” the superior court’s decision and “remand]ed ]” the case back to the lower court for “further proceedings consistent with this opinion”, according to Gard.
Arizona GOP Chair Gina Swoboda celebrated the ruling, saying in a statement that the court’s verdict” shows just how much Secretary Fontes and his allies in the Governor’s and Attorney General’s offices overreached in their partisan efforts to hijack our elections through this blatantly political manual”.
” We will continue to be vigilant against any and all attempts from the radical left to illegally assume control of our elections”, Swoboda said.
For more election news and updates, visit , electionbriefing.com.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClear Health, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
