Two of Arizona’s top elected officials remain at odds over the operation of E-Qual, an online system which allows candidates for the Arizona Legislature to collect signatures on nominating petitions.
Secretary of State Katie Hobbs had asked Judge Joan Sinclair to issue a court-ordered injunction preventing Attorney General Mark Brnovich from pursuing any action against the Secretary in connection to her plans to take the E-Qual offline for updates right in the middle of the signature gathering period.
The judge denied Hobbs’ request on Feb. 23, leading Brnovich to claim victory against what he characterized as “political games” being played by Hobbs. But legal observers noted all Sinclair did was deny Hobbs’ request for relief at this time.
If Brnovich should actually pursue any civil or criminal action against the Secretary related to E-Qual, the judge wrote that “then the matter would be ripe for adjudication.”
The dispute stems from the fact that Arizona has all new Legislative and Congressional districts for the 2022 election cycle. Candidates may collect signatures on nominating petitions in person or online, with April 4 as this year’s statutory deadline for candidates to submit their petitions.
E-Qual was established in state law, with the Secretary of State responsible for its operation. The system has several limitations, including the inability to support two sets of district boundaries (current and new) for a voter. It is also designed to only allow a voter to sign a petition for the district they are currently registered in even though 90 percent of registered voters will have a new legislative district designation for the 2022 election.
Hobbs’ office has insisted there is no way to update E-Qual without taking the entire system offline for at least three weeks starting March 11. Shutting down E-Qual, the Secretary argued in her injunction filing, is necessary to allow the new congressional and legislative districts to be updated into the voter registration systems used by each of the state’s 15 counties.
During that time, it will also be impossible for Clean Elections candidates for the Arizona Legislature to collect $5 contributions toward their campaign funding.
It is Brnovich’s opinion that Hobbs could be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor or possibly even a Class 6 felony if the Secretary directs or allows her staff to take E-Qual offline. That prompted a Jan. 18 warning letter to Hobbs’ attorney from the election integrity unit in Brnovich’s office that the Attorney General intended to enforce Arizona’s election laws, including the “statutory right” of candidates to obtain online nomination signatures.
In response, the Secretary filed a motion on Feb. 8 in hopes of preempting any action by Brnovich. Judge Sinclair of the Maricopa County Superior Court noted in her Feb. 23 ruling that there was nothing for the judge to consider because Brnovich had not yet undertaken any action against Hobbs or her staff.
Sinclair gave no indication as to her thoughts on whether Hobbs could be held civilly liable or criminally responsible for shutting down E-Qual while nominating signatures are being collected. The judge did note the inclination among judges to consider “an agency’s interpretation and application of statutes” that impact the agency.
It is unclear whether Sinclair was referring to the Secretary of State’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office, or both.
Brnovich -a Republican running for U.S. Senate- and Hobbs -a Democrat running for Governor- have had a poor relationship since the Secretary took office in January 2019. Relations between the two worsened after the 2020 General Election, and earlier this month Brnovich entered into a diversion agreement with the State Bar of Arizona as the result of two ethics complaints filed by state agencies – including one complaint authorized by Hobbs.
The other complaint was made by the Arizona Board of Regents which governs the state’s public university system.