State Representatives Steve Montenegro and Michael Carbone are calling foul on Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes for his refusal to extend what they say is the “artificially-short public comment period he set for his 2023 Elections Procedure Manual (EPM) draft.
Montenegro and Carbone are calling for “accountability and transparency in the state’s elections process. The two Representatives also want Fontes to take immediate action to rectify concerns over the draft.
In a letter to Secretary Fontes, Montenegro and Carbone cite what they believe are specific legal errors identified in the draft EPM and request their swift correction, including the deletion of Chapter 1 of the manual, since Arizona law does not authorize the Secretary of State to regulate voter registration processes.
Additionally, in a direct call for “openness and accountability,” Montenegro and Carbone are calling for all public comments on the EPM to be published on the Secretary of State’s website to “foster an open dialogue and demonstrate a commitment to transparency – essential for the rebuilding of public trust in the election process.”
“The Elections Procedures Manual is of paramount importance to ensuring the integrity and security of election administration in Arizona. Representative Carbone and I have called on Secretary Fontes to publish all public comments submitted about the draft EPM before its final adoption because it would help foster an open dialogue on the issue and demonstrate a commitment to transparency, which is essential for the rebuilding of public trust in the election process,” said Montenegro.
Arizona Revised Statute § 16-452 allows the Secretary of State to write an Elections Procedure Manual every odd year before each general election. The EPM is intended to provide legal and statutorily consistent guidance to elections officers throughout the state. Arizona’s 2022 elections were administered with the 2019 EPM even though state law requires the EPM to be updated every two years.
“I’m grateful that leadership in both the House and Senate are on board and are supporting us in this fight,” said Carbone. “Secretary Fontes has a well deserved reputation for playing fast and loose with election laws, and we should be rebuilding people’s trust, not giving them more reason to distrust the process.”
Montenegro and Carbone believe that we should not allow the adoption of an unlawful EPM for use in the 2024 election and they encourage Arizona voters to participate in the process to keep both elected and unelected elections officers transparent and accountable.
On Monday, Senate President Warren Peterson and Speaker of the House Ben Toma, warned Fontes they would take legal action in against him for his proposed draft of the EPM.
The leaders allege that the draft “misinterprets Arizona election laws, unlawfully expands the powers of the Secretary of State, and subjects elections to a greater potential for voter fraud.”
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