PHOENIX – On Friday, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge granted Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s request for a restraining order to stop Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes from illegally mailing out ballots for the Democratic Presidential Preference Election. Fontes claims that he is sending out last-minute ballots to voters who never requested them due to concerns about coronavirus.
The Democratic Presidential Preference Election is March 17, 2020.
The Attorney General’s Office filed the temporary restraining order against Fontes and Runbeck Election Services Inc., to prevent them from mailing the ballots to registered Democrats who have not yet cast ballots in connection with the Democratic Presidential Preference Election.
Fontes acknowledged the reprimand on Twitter:
So the Court has issued a restraining order against my effort to send out ballots. I respect that. Now, every ounce of my office’s resources will be deployed to help the @maricopacounty Board have a great Election Day!
So the Court has issued a restraining order against my effort to send out ballots.
I respect that.
Now, every ounce of my office’s resources will be deployed to help the @maricopacounty Board have a great Election Day!#ProtectDemocracy— Adrian Fontes (@Adrian_Fontes) March 14, 2020
The Attorney General filed the temporary restraining order after Fontes issued a press release on Friday stating that while “some who will say there is no authority to mail ballots to all voters under the law… there is no prohibition” and he would be mailing out ballots “to traditional Election Day voters who are not on the Permanent Early Voting List,” just four days before the schedule Presidential Primary Election on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.
According to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), under Arizona law, Fontes does not have legal authority to mail a ballot to all voters who have not requested one. ARS 16-542 authorizes ballots to be mailed to electors who “make a verbal or signed request to the county recorder” and who make their request by 5:00 PM on the eleventh day preceding the election.
“The Maricopa County Recorder cannot unilaterally rewrite state election laws,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “Fontes is creating chaos in our elections during an already difficult time. In times of crisis, the public looks to our elected officials to follow the law; not make reactionary decisions for political gain.”
Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, agrees with Brnovich that there’s nothing in the law that allows Fontes, a Democrat, to do what he’s doing.
We are on our way to court now to file a motion for TRO and a Preliminary Injunction against Adrian Fontes and Runbeck Election Services to stop them from violating Arizona law. https://t.co/6riTYaEOWh
— Mark Brnovich (@GeneralBrnovich) March 13, 2020