Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen fired warning shots at questionably elected Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a former cartel lawyer, last week, threatening a lawsuit if his office does not correct the election security flaws in the 2023 Draft Elections Procedures Manual.
The Arizona State Senate posted the following press release on Monday.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA— Senate President Warren Petersen is warning Secretary of State Adrian Fontes of legal action following his proposed draft of the 2023 Elections Procedures Manual (EPM), which misinterprets Arizona election laws, unlawfully expands the powers of the Secretary of State, and subjects elections to a greater potential for voter fraud.
After the Secretary deliberately shortened the typical public comment period on the EPM from one month to two weeks, limiting meaningful feedback, President Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma today submitted their assessment on the manual that serves as a rulebook for how county officials must administer elections in accordance with state law.
One of the most notable errors presented by the Secretary in this manual is his unlawful delay in the implementation of a 2021 state law that helps prevent voter fraud by requiring county recorders to remove any voters registered on the active early voter list who have not cast a ballot during two consecutive election cycles and have not responded to notification from the recorder that they wish to continue participation. By delaying this state law, he continues to perpetuate the issue of ballots being sent to the homes of voters who may have moved or no longer wish to participate in this process, opening the door for ballots getting into the hands of unintended individuals.
Other key corrections submitted to the Secretary of State on the draft EPM include:
- The Secretary does not have the legal authority to regulate voter registration procedures or deadlines on his own accord.
- The Secretary does not have the legal authority to extend the early voting period for UOCAVA voters.
- The Secretary inappropriately decrees that counties do not have the authority to conduct hand count audits.
- The Secretary improperly perpetuates the use of ballot drop boxes, which have no basis in statute. Ballot drop boxes encourage illegal ballot harvesting and could present security risks.
- The Secretary ignores directives from a law passed this year requiring instructions of Arizona’s prohibition on illegal ballot harvesting to be provided to voters who are casting early ballots.
“Our current Secretary of State has a history of distorting our elections laws and pushing the envelope on questionable procedures,” said President Petersen. “My hope is that he will update the EPM with our corrections before submitting to the Attorney General and Governor for approval. Failure to do so will result in legal action.”
To read the comment submitted to the Secretary in its entirety, click here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Secretary of State Must Correct Elections Procedures Manual Draft or Face Legal Action
– @votewarren pic.twitter.com/bAfPcXzOgJ
— AZSenateRepublicans (@AZSenateGOP) August 14, 2023
In a letter to Fontes, attorneys for Senate President Petersen and Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma question the unlawful provisions in the new Elections Procedures Manual.
The letter outlines the legislature’s concerns over voter registration, mail-in ballots, drop boxes, tabulation of ballots, observers from political parties, free speech suppression, and post-election audits.
The 2023 EPM also attempts to restrict counties from counting ballots by hand in accordance with SCR1037, a joint resolution that bans the use of foreign-made and noncompliant voting machines.
The Gateway Pundit recently reported that Fraudulently elected Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes also sent a letter threatening Arizona Counties that proceed with the legislature’s direction to hand count the 2024 election ballots.
Democrat Arizona Attorney General Sends Letter Threatening AZ Counties Who Hand Count 2024 Election
Attorneys, on behalf of the President and Speaker, remind Adrian Fontes in their letter that there is still ongoing litigation over a full hand count of ballots, and the court may allow it. In response to Kris Mayes’ bogus legal threats, they note “nothing in Arizona law permits the Attorney General either to issue unsolicited advisory opinions or to haphazardly nullify prior opinions out of ideological spite,” while calling Mayes’ opinion “non-binding” and “of dubious validity.”
Read the legislature’s comments on Adrian Fontes’ draft Elections Procedures Manual here.
This is similar to what happened in 2021 when. As The Gateway Pundit reported, EZAZ, a citizen-led action group, found over 170 issues and statute violations, including provisions to allow internet connection, in Katie Hobbs’ 2021 Elections Procedures Manual Draft. The same issues are found in Fontes’ EPM draft.
Remember, then-Attorney General Mark Brnovich shot down Hobbs’ 2021 EPM draft, and they still found a way to cheat conservative candidates and voters in 2022.
EZAZ also analyzed Fontes’ draft and discovered serious voter security concerns.
Read the full report from EZAZ here.