Scrutiny remains on voter protections as the election nears.
Multiple cases remain pending, but the rulings will be in effect this election cycle. The Election Procedures Manual created by the Secretary of State has been the topic of multiple lawsuits beginning in August.
Two lawsuits have been filed against Secretary of State Adrian Fontes regarding his iteration of the EPM. Most recently, a federal court judge struck down a procedure in the manual allowing Fontes to “nullify” a county’s election results if they do not certify the results in a timely manner.
“If the official canvass of any county has not been received by this deadline, the Secretary of State must proceed with the state canvass without including the votes of the missing county (i.e., the Secretary of State is not permitted to use an unofficial vote count in lieu of the county’s official canvass),” reads the manual.
Arizona U.S. District Judge Mike Liburdi ruled that this provision is “utterly without precedent” and would disenfranchise voters by dismissing their vote due solely to misconduct on the part of elected officials.
“If the right to vote ‘is the right of qualified voters within a state to cast their ballots and have them counted,’ then the Canvass Provision imposes the most severe burden: state-sanctioned disenfranchisement,” reads the ruling.
This provision was enacted as a failsafe after Cochise County delayed in certifying their midterm election results after which then Secretary of State Katie Hobbs threatened actions in line with this provision.
