| For Immediate Release 02/09/2024 |
Contact:AZGOP COMMUNICATIONS comms@azgop.com |
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Today, Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP), the Republican National Committee (RNC), and Yavapai County GOP announced a joint election integrity lawsuit against Arizona’s Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. This lawsuit regards Fontes’s new Election Procedures Manual (EPM), which is designed to undermine election integrity.
AZGOP Chairwoman Gina Swoboda released the following statement:
"We will not tolerate Arizona Democrats' and Adrian Fontes' continued assault on Arizona’s election law and procedures. Adrian Fontes intentionally released this new Election Procedures Manual at the last second during the holidays because he knew that it would wither under scrutiny and invite legal challenges. Fontes and his allies are not legislators – they have no right to insert their preferred far-left policies into the guidance for Arizona elections. This is a blatant attempt to rewrite election law and hollow out basic safeguards that are designed to preserve election integrity in our state’s elections. That’s why the Arizona GOP and RNC and our fellow Republican partners are suing Fontes and we will win."
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel released the following statement:
“Adrian Fontes’ Election Procedure Manual (EPM) is designed to undermine election integrity in Arizona, and Republicans are suing him to protect Arizona elections. When adopting the EPM, Fontes disregarded important legal procedures that exist to ensure public input and constrain his authority. The new EPM weakens safeguards against non-citizen voting during a time of unprecedented illegal immigration on Arizona’s southern border, unlawfully limits the ability to challenge early ballots, and violates numerous provisions of Arizona law meant to protect election integrity. The RNC and AZGOP have a long history of collaborating in the courtroom to protect Arizona elections from left-wing attacks – we are proud to hold Arizona Democrats accountable and look forward to seeing them in court.”
Background:
- Following Secretary Fontes’ release of a draft EPM in September 2023, the RNC sent a letter to his office detailing our issues with the draft and confirming our intent to sue if it was passed.
- Now that the EPM is law, we are following through on that promise.
- Secretary Fontes also only gave the public 15 days to review and comment on his draft EPM in an attempt to cut Arizonans out of the process.
- The RNC has engaged in 78 cases of election integrity litigation in 23 states this cycle.
- Read the full suit HERE.