Adrian Fontes
Does Az’s new recount law apply to a Tucson ballot measure?
The Arizona Secretary of State, along with Tucson’s City Attorney, are asking Attorney General Kris Mayes to weigh in on whether a narrowly passed ballot proposition triggers a recount under a newly revised state law. Tucson’s Proposition 413, which was on the Nov. 7 ballot, triples the annual salary of city council members and would […]
Far-right Patriot Party fails to become an official party in AZ
The far-right Patriot Party of Arizona failed to gather enough valid signatures to become a recognized party on the 2024 ballot. Secretary of State Adrian Fontes announced Monday that the would-be political party gathered 37,227 signatures. That’s more than the 34,127 needed, but a required verification of the signatures determined only 31,018 were valid. “After […]
Two new Arizona laws would create regular checks on voter citizenship. Will a judge let them stand?
A federal judge will soon decide whether to allow two new Arizona laws to go into effect that would require officials to investigate the citizenship status of all voters who haven’t yet provided proof of citizenship, and to regularly check the voter rolls for noncitizens. An army of voting rights groups, backed by the U.S. […]
One year out: how a free and fair 2024 presidential election could be under threat
The last time America elected a president, it led to a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol and a failed coup that gravely damaged the political system and marred the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in U.S. history. A year from now, the nation’s voters will decide another presidential contest — likely […]
State and local election workers quitting amid abuse, officials tell U.S. Senate panel
State and local election officials face threats and intimidation, driving experienced workers out of the profession, a panel of election officials told a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday. Conspiracy theories have fueled a more hostile environment for election workers, which has led many to quit, creating more challenges for the inexperienced new leaders, the top election […]
Fixes may be coming for 4 of Arizona’s election controversies prior to the presidential election
This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access. The governor and secretary of state are crafting proposals to clarify or change how Arizona’s elections are run, but it’s unclear if they will move forward prior to the presidential election, or would be enough to prevent […]
Club sues to ban unstaffed ballot drop boxes in Arizona
A group dedicated to “taking on the establishment and the radical left” is trying to get unstaffed ballot drop boxes banned in Arizona. The Arizona Free Enterprise Club, along with Yavapai County resident Mary Kay Ruwette, filed a suit in Superior Court on Oct. 19, challenging Secretary of State Adrian Fontes over the use of […]
Arizona Indian Health Service facility becomes first to be designated a voter registration agency
Indigenous people in Arizona have often faced significant hurdles when registering to vote, from accessibility to rural addressing to using postal office boxes. To help ease those hurdles, Native Health, an urban Indian Health Services facility, has been officially designated a voter registration agency in the Phoenix area. Native Health is a health care facility […]
Three seconds to spot fraud? Testing Arizona’s ballot signature checking process.
I’m staring at a bubbly cursive signature on a screen with a loop in the letter T. It looks the same as the T’s in other signatures on the screen. I click “approve.” I scrutinized letters like this over and over again as I sat at Maricopa County’s elections headquarters in downtown Phoenix last month. […]
Fontes: Donald Trump can’t be barred from the AZ ballot by the 14th Amendment
Former President Donald Trump, who is currently facing 91 criminal charges in four states, is likely to appear on the Arizona ballot in 2024, despite arguments that his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection disqualifies him from running for office. Widely considered to be the frontrunner in the Republican Party’s bid for the White House, […]
98% of Arizonans will have new elections officials in 2024, report finds
Arizona has lost nearly all of its experienced election officials and 98% of the state will have new officials running elections in 2024 than ran the 2020 elections, a new report found. The Grand Canyon State has been center stage for election misinformation since 2020, with efforts such as the Arizona Senate Republicans’ “audit” of […]
Will the 14th Amendment bar Trump from the Arizona ballot in 2024?
Lawsuits have been filed in three states so far to attempt to keep former President Donald Trump off the ballot in the 2024 presidential election, but at this point, it’s unclear if a suit filed in Arizona will follow. The suits, including one filed in neighboring Colorado earlier this week, argue that a provision of […]