Appeals court deals final blow to GOP's elections rulebook challenge
After nearly two years of court rulings, with wins and losses on both sides, one of the Republican challenges to Arizona’s elections ruleboo
On Dec. 5, the Arizona Court of Appeals dismissed a legal challenge to the state’s 2023 Election Procedures Manual, brought by the Republican National Committee, the Arizona Republican Party and the Yavapai County Republican Party
Every two years, the secretary of state is tasked with creating a new EPM, outlining procedures and rules for county elections officials to implement state election laws when they conduct elections in the state. The manual carries the force of law, and must be approved by the governor and attorney general — offices both currently held by Democrats — before it’s published.
Republicans heavily criticized the 2023 manual and the not-yet-finalized 2025 version. They said that multiple guidelines and rules added by Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, conflicted with state law. In February 2024 when they filed the lawsuit, the RNC said that the 2023 EPM was “designed to undermine election integrity in Arizona.”
https://azmirror.com/2025/12/10/appeals-court-deals-final-blow-to-gops-elections-rulebook-challenge/