Coalition of current and former election officials argue that legal challenges to Arizona’s Election Procedures Manual could disenfranchise voters and undermine the integrity of Arizona elections.
(March 25, 2024) PHOENIX, ARIZ. – Public Rights Project (PRP) and Protect Democracy — on behalf of a bipartisan coalition of current and former election officials and administrators — filed an amicus brief in the Maricopa County Superior Court in Petersen v. Fontes, urging the court to reject a lawsuit brought by Arizona State Senate President Warren Petersen and Speaker of the House Ben Toma that seeks to block the use of the Arizona Election Procedures Manual (EPM) during the 2024 election cycle.
The lawsuit is part of a national trend of unprecedented legal challenges to undermine and disrupt elections administration across the country ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The new brief argues that the EPM in its current form provides crucial guidance to local election officials, fills gaps in existing laws, resolves ambiguities, and ensures that officials are able to implement fair and uniform election processes.
“At a time when local elections officials are under immense scrutiny, they need stability and certainty. The EPM provides necessary direction to election officials and enables them to implement consistent approaches across the state,” said Jonathan Miller, Public Rights Project’s Chief Program Officer. “Baseless challenges should not be permitted to interfere with the Arizona election process—from voter registration to certification of election results.”
If successful, Petersen and Toma’s challenge could have damaging effects on election administration in Arizona. Their lawsuit could enable bad actors to submit frivolous and large-scale citizenship challenges to voter rolls—based on factors like race or political party—that could disenfranchise eligible voters and waste officials’ precious resources. The 2023 EPM authorizes officials to ignore these challenges if no basis is provided.
The EPM also includes crucial safeguards around the counting and tabulation of votes. The EPM includes critical procedures to guard against efforts to subvert certification in individual counties, including a provision outlining that Boards of Supervisors have a non-discretionary duty to canvass the returns as provided by the County Recorders. The brief defends the certification provision as both legally correct and practically important for election officials seeking to conduct fair and efficient elections.
“Arizona’s Election Procedures Manual correctly explains that the Board of Supervisors has a non-discretionary legal duty to certify election results,” said Janine Lopez, counsel on Protect Democracy’s Election Law & Litigation Team. “This requirement is consistent with laws across states that intentionally define certification as a purely ministerial act. Arizona law provides several opportunities outside the certification process to count, verify, and challenge election results if necessary.”
Election officials were forced to rely on the 2019 EPM when conducting the 2022 election cycle because of a dispute with the prior Attorney General leaving then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs unable to issue a new EPM in 2021. The amicus brief states that the 2023 EPM plays a vital role in ensuring a smooth 2024 election cycle. Not only have election laws changed since 2019, but election administrators have already used the 2023 EMP for the Presidential Preference Election. Additionally, they are training staff, allocating resources, and preparing for the July Primary Election and November General Election based on the 2023 EPM.
PRP, a national nonprofit that works with local governments to protect civil rights, has a proven track record protecting free and fair elections across the country on behalf of local elections officials. PRP is representing this Arizona coalition as part of the free resources it provides through its new Election Protection Hub, which will support more than 200 local elections officials facing unprecedented challenges and attacks that aim to undermine the 2024 elections.
Protect Democracy today also released a new report, Election Certification Is Not Optional: Why refusing to certify the 2024 election would be illegal, outlining the mandatory duty of county officials to certify election results. Drawing on state laws governing certification in key states, the report explains that, despite recent threats to the certification process, refusing to certify an election is simply not a viable option. Courts and lawmakers have designed the certification process specifically to protect against abuses and manipulation by partisan actors.
Signatories to the amicus brief include:
Gabriella Cázares-Kelly, Pima County Recorder
Michele Forney, Former Pinal County Elections Director
Patty Hansen, Coconino County Recorder
Brad Nelson, Former Mohave County Elections Director, Former Pima County Elections Director
Candace Owens, Former Coconino County Recorder
Tammy Patrick, Former Federal Compliance Officer, Maricopa County Elections Department
Helen Purcell, Former Maricopa County Recorder
Coconino County Board of Supervisors
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About Public Rights Project
Public Rights Project (PRP) is a 501(c)(3) legal advocacy nonprofit that works with local government officials to protect and expand the rights of the communities they serve, including voting rights, reproductive rights, workers rights, and more. Founded in 2017 by Jill Habig, former special counsel to Kamala Harris in the California Attorney General’s Office, PRP works with more than 500 local and state governments and officials across 43 states to fight against abuses of power and help advance and protect civil rights. PRP provides state and local governments with the capacity, training, representation and legal support they need to build trust with communities, take action to enforce civil rights, and ensure that voters’ voices are heard. PRP is staffed by dedicated lawyers and public servants with decades of combined experience in community organizing, program development, and promoting affirmative litigation. Since its founding, PRP has protected 1 million working people from corporate abuse, ensured voting rights for 10 million people, and secured legal access to abortion for 6.5 million people.
Web: https://www.publicrightsproject.org/
X/Twitter: @public_rights
About Protect Democracy
Protect Democracy is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing American democracy from declining into a more authoritarian form of government.
PRESS CONTACT:
Grace Kair, Chatham Strategies: GraceK@chatham-strategies.com; press@publicrightsproject.org
