Fontes blocked from using new rule to certify election results when counties refuse to

PHOENIX (AP) — Democratic Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has been blocked from using a new provision of the election procedures manual that would have let him certify election results in the state if a county refuses to sign off on its own results.

In a decision Friday, U.S. District Judge Michael Liburdi said that under the rule all votes in a given county could be excluded if its officials fail to certify the results. The provision, the judge said, would give Fontes “nearly carte blanche authority to disenfranchise the ballots of potentially millions of Arizona voters.”

Two officials from a largely Republican county in Arizona delayed the certification of midterm election results in 2022, leading the attorney general to bring felony charges against them. Then-Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, now Arizona’s governor, warned that she might have to certify statewide results without numbers from Cochise County if they weren’t received in time, an outcome that would have tipped the balance of several close races.

Liburdi, who was nominated to the federal bench by President Donald Trump in 2019, said the provision would impose a severe burden on voters who may comply with voting requirements yet could be excluded based on the actions of public officials.

The provision was challenged by the America First Policy Institute; another group, American Encore. which describes itself as a defender of freedom and promoter of free markets; and an Apache County voter.

Lawyers representing Fontes defended the provision, arguing that the state’s interests in protecting Arizonans’ votes outweighs the speculative claims of harm by those who filed the lawsuit.

In a statement, Fontes’ office said, “We are still reviewing the decision to determine our next step.”