Arizona elections would have fewer rules under Secretary of State Adrian Fontes' new manual
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is stripping down the giant rulebook that tells county officials how they must run elections in accordance with state law, a review of a partial draft shows.
While his draft is still unfinished, Fontes told Votebeat he wants the Elections Procedures Manual to include only the rules he believes county officials must legally follow, shortening the rulebook considerably as he removes what he describes as “opinion” from his predecessor, now-Gov. Katie Hobbs.
For her part, Hobbs previously refused to strip down the manual in this way herself during her time as secretary of state. As governor, she will ultimately need to approve Fontes’ version in order for it to go into effect.
In response to Fontes’ description of parts of the current manual as “opinion,” Hobbs’ office wrote in a statement that it was “drafted in close consultation with county officials, incorporated feedback from the public,” and has withstood multiple legal challenges.
“It was a critical part of what allowed Arizona to administer successful, secure, and accurate elections in the 2020 and 2022 election cycles, despite the unprecedented challenges election officials confronted,” the office wrote.
https://www.azmirror.com/2023/06/28/arizona-elections-would-have-fewer-rules-under-secretary-of-state-adrian-fontes-new-manual/