Republican lawmakers seek opinion of Arizona Supreme Court on election canvassing
PHOENIX — The state’s top two Republican lawmakers are asking the Supreme Court to rule that county supervisors don’t have to accept the vote total figures they get from election officials.
In a new filing, attorneys for Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Steve Montenegro argue that supervisors have “discretion’’ to determine whether to certify the vote tallies as official. To rule otherwise, they said, would “transform the boards into rubber stamps.’’
The pair are specifically suing Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.
He produced an Elections Procedure Manual which said that the duty of the supervisors, in essence, is strictly ministerial: Take the report given to them by the county employees who have run the election and declare them valid. What makes that important is the manual has the force of law, complete with criminal penalties for violations.
https://www.pinalcentral.com/arizona_news/republican-lawmakers-seek-opinion-of-arizona-supreme-court-on-election-canvassing/article_e7dd547e-834f-4db4-82e4-372d9fd92cd7.html