{"id":2411063,"date":"2025-03-07T13:58:02","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T18:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-fontes-ignored-arizona-law-when-drafting-election-rules\/"},"modified":"2025-03-07T13:58:44","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T18:58:44","slug":"court-fontes-ignored-arizona-law-when-drafting-election-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-fontes-ignored-arizona-law-when-drafting-election-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Court: Fontes Ignored Arizona Law When Drafting Election Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcourt-fontes-ignored-arizona-law-when-drafting-election-rules%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2411063&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A recent ruling by the Arizona\u200b Court of Appeals\u200b resolute that \u200bDemocrat \u200dsecretary of State \u200bAdrian Fontes did not comply with \u200cstate law while \u2063drafting the 2023 \u200bElection Procedures Manual (EPM). The court found \u2062that Fontes violated the Arizona \u200bAdministrative \u2063Procedure \u200dAct by \u2062providing only a\u200b 15-day <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-canvassers-rescind-their-votes-to-certify-wayne-county-michigan-results\/\" title=\"Republican Canvassers Rescind Their Votes to Certify Wayne County, Michigan, Results\">public comment period<\/a> for\u200d the EPM, which is half the time required by law.The ruling \u2062arose from a lawsuit filed by the Republican\u2063 National committee, Arizona GOP, and Yavapai County\u200d GOP, challenging Fontes&#8217; actions. The appeals court has\u200d reversed a previous decision by a superior court that had dismissed the \u200bcase and \u200cremanded it for further proceedings, while not\u2064 addressing the individual provisions of the EPM. \u2062Arizona \u2064GOP \u2062Chair Gina Swoboda praised the ruling, \u200casserting it highlighted overreach by Fontes and emphasized the need for vigilance against attempts to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/stacey-abrams-nominated-for-nobel-peace-prize\/\" title=\"Stacey Abrams Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize\">undermine election integrity<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Adrian_Fontes_(54271416860).jpg\">Gage Skidmore\/Wikimedia Commons\/<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/07\/court-democrat-secretary-fontes-sidestepped-arizona-law-when-drafting-election-rulebook\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Court:%20Democrat%20Secretary%20Fontes%20Sidestepped%20Arizona%20Law%20When%20Drafting%20Election%20Rulebook&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/07\/court-democrat-secretary-fontes-sidestepped-arizona-law-when-drafting-election-rulebook\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Court:%20Democrat%20Secretary%20Fontes%20Sidestepped%20Arizona%20Law%20When%20Drafting%20Election%20Rulebook&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/07\/court-democrat-secretary-fontes-sidestepped-arizona-law-when-drafting-election-rulebook\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/07\/court-democrat-secretary-fontes-sidestepped-arizona-law-when-drafting-election-rulebook\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Court:%20Democrat%20Secretary%20Fontes%20Sidestepped%20Arizona%20Law%20When%20Drafting%20Election%20Rulebook&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/07\/court-democrat-secretary-fontes-sidestepped-arizona-law-when-drafting-election-rulebook\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Arizona&rsquo;s Democrat secretary of state failed to comply with existing law when creating the state&rsquo;s election rulebook, an Arizona court ruled on Thursday. <\/p>\n<p>Writing on behalf of a three-judge panel on the Arizona Court of Appeals, Judge Lacey Gard <a href=\"https:\/\/riteusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/CV20240241Opinion.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruled<\/a> that Secretary of State <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/adrian-fontes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Adrian Fontes<\/a> &ldquo;did not substantially comply&rdquo; with the Arizona Administrative Procedure Act&rsquo;s (APA) rulemaking procedures when finalizing the 2023 Election Procedures Manual (EPM). In Arizona, the EPM provides rules to election officials relating to mail ballots, voter registration, and other election-related matters.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-477973659\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>According to Gard, Fontes&rsquo; illegal act pertains to the EPM&rsquo;s public comment period. <\/p>\n<p>In late July 2023, the Democrat secretary &ldquo;published a 259-page draft EPM, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arizona-attorney-general-sues-school-board-that-allegedly-sought-to-silence-outspoken-parents\/\" title=\"... Attorney General Sues School Board That Allegedly Sought To Silence Outspoken Parents\">allowing public comment<\/a> for a period of fifteen days.&rdquo; As unanimously determined by the three-judge panel, however, that is &ldquo;only half the time the APA requires.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We conclude that the 2023 EPM was subject to the rulemaking procedure under the APA and that the Secretary did not substantially comply with the APA&rsquo;s rulemaking process in promulgating the EPM,&rdquo; Gard wrote. <\/p>\n<p>Thursday&rsquo;s ruling came as the result of a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/12\/lawsuit-both-the-how-and-the-what-of-democrat-election-chiefs-rulebook-violate-arizona-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lawsuit<\/a> brought by the Republican National Committee, Arizona GOP, and Yavapai County GOP in February 2024. <\/p>\n<p>In their original complaint, the plaintiffs contested Fontes&rsquo; shortening of the public comment period for the 2023 EPM and argued that several of the provisions included in the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">guidance violated state law<\/a>. One of the challenged rules, for example, involved a provision prohibiting county recorders from canceling the voter registration of individuals who &ldquo;answered a juror questionnaire saying he or she is a non-citizen where that voter has provided [documentary proof of citizenship] in the past (or been registered to vote since 2004).&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Plaintiffs&rsquo; request for a preliminary injunction to <a href=\"https:\/\/riteusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/CV20240241Opinion.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">prevent<\/a> the EPM&rsquo;s enforcement in the 2024 election was denied by the superior court, which subsequently granted Fontes&rsquo; motion to dismiss the suit. This prompted plaintiffs to appeal the decision to the appellate court, which, in October 2024, separately denied a last-minute request by the RNC that sought to enjoin the EPM&rsquo;s enforcement for the November contest. <\/p>\n<p>According to Gard, the appeals court did so while &ldquo;cautioning against enjoining election procedures on the eve of an election.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Thursday&rsquo;s ruling did not address plaintiffs&rsquo; challenge to the individual EPM provisions, however. Rather, the appellate court &ldquo;reverse[d]&rdquo; the superior court&rsquo;s decision and &ldquo;remand[ed]&rdquo; the case back to the lower court for &ldquo;further proceedings consistent with this opinion,&rdquo; according to Gard. <\/p>\n<p>Arizona GOP Chair Gina Swoboda celebrated the ruling, saying in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ArizonaGOP?ref=embed_page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a> that the court&rsquo;s verdict &ldquo;shows just how much Secretary Fontes and his allies in the Governor&rsquo;s and Attorney General&rsquo;s offices overreached in their partisan efforts to hijack our elections through this blatantly political manual.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We will continue to be vigilant against any and all attempts from the radical left to illegally assume control of our elections,&rdquo; Swoboda said. <\/p>\n<p><em>For more election news and updates, visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/electionbriefing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">electionbriefing.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/2024-election\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">2024 election<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/adrian-fontes\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Adrian Fontes<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/arizona\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Arizona<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/court-ruling\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">court ruling<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/election-integrity\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">election integrity<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/election-procedures-manual\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Election Procedures Manual<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/election-rules\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">election rules<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/lawsuit\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Lawsuit<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/republican-party-of-arizona\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Republican Party of Arizona<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/rnc\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">RNC<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arizona court rules Democrat secretary of state violated law in election rulebook creation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2411064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Adrian-Fontes.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[38347,4733,39482,41261,36794],"class_list":["post-2411063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-arizona-law","tag-court","tag-election-rules","tag-fontes","tag-legal-ruling"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Adrian-Fontes.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2411063"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2411067,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411063\/revisions\/2411067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2411064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2411063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2411063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2411063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}