(The Center Square) – Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen is not happy with Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.
Petersen, R-Gilbert, is demanding Fontes, a Democrat, make “immediate corrections” to the secretary’s draft of the 2025 Elections Procedures Manual. Failure to do so will result in what Petersen called a lawsuit from the Legislature.
“The Elections Procedures Manual cannot be used as a vehicle to rewrite Arizona law,” said Petersen in a press release. “This draft is filled with provisions that go far beyond the Secretary of State’s legal authority, and if they are not corrected before submission, litigation will follow.”
The Center Square emailed the Secretary of State’s Office for comment and has yet to receive a response.
On his website, Fontes states that the “Elections Procedures Manual helps ensure election practices are consistent and efficient throughout the state.” Fontes goes on to explain how a new law “requires the Secretary of State to send a draft of the manual to the governor and attorney general for review by October 1 of every odd-numbered year.”
2025 would be one of those years.
In his press release, Petersen called the Elections Procedures Manual “the rulebook for how elections are carried out” in Arizona. Petersen added that by law, the manual must comply with state laws and be approved by the attorney general and governor. However, Petersen said the current draft “undermines” the process by creating new rules that not only conflict with state law but also weaken safeguards that were put in place for elections.
Examples offered by Petersen include Fontes’ “allowing apparent non-citizens an extended opportunity to cure invalid registrations.” Petersen also said Fontes is “ignoring identification requirements for voter registration forms, restricting the ability to challenge questionable ballots, forcing election officers to sign onto policies that compromise their constitutional rights” and diluting the authority of political parties to select poll workers for elections.
“Our election laws are passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor, not invented by one officeholder,” said Petersen. “If the Secretary of State wants rules changed, he should propose legislation like everyone else.”
Until that happens, Petersen said the Legislature will insist the election manual follows Arizona’s current laws.
