Montenegro Challenges Fontes Over Election Manual Authority

Arizona officials are headed for a potential legal showdown over the state's 2025 election procedures, as conflicts rise about whether proposed administrative rules align with existing state law.

House Speaker Steve Montenegro issued a news release this week against Secretary of State Adrian Fontes' proposed election guidelines, arguing that Fontes is trying to rewrite election law through administrative rules rather than following what's already on the books.

"Arizonans expect elections to be run according to the law, not rewritten to fit the Secretary of State’s partisan agenda," Steve Montenegro stated. "Secretary Fontes’ draft manual again contradicts Arizona statutes, weakens safeguards against non-citizen voting, undermines legislative authority, and even pressures election officers to surrender their constitutional rights. Such abuses erode trust in our elections and will not stand."

Legal Concerns

At the center of the controversy is Arizona's Elections Procedures Manual, a comprehensive document that tells county officials exactly how to run elections.

Montenegro's concerns target six specific areas where it claims Fontes has crossed legal boundaries:

Registration Loopholes: The proposed rules would allow people to correct voter registration issues up until Election Day, even if county records indicate they aren't citizens. Montenegro says the current law doesn't allow this kind of correction power.

Documentations: Under the draft rules, people could register to vote without providing the required identification numbers or citizenship affirmations that state law currently demands.

Ballot Limits: The manual would block election officials from questioning early ballots when voters can't prove their citizenship, despite existing laws that Montenegro says guarantee this legal right.

Petition Problems: The rules would excuse incomplete paperwork from petition circulators, even though courts have previously ruled this act to be unlawful.

Poll Worker Changes: Political parties would lose some of their current legal rights to choose election workers, shifting more control to election offices.

Requirements: Election officials would have to sign a "Code of Conduct" that Montenegro claims goes beyond what state law requires and potentially violates free speech rights.

Beyond these issues, Montenegro also explained problems with ballot security procedures, limits on party observers watching ballot handling, and potential delays in fixing voting equipment problems on Election Day.

"Arizona law is clear: the Legislature writes the rules for elections," Montenegro emphasized. "The Secretary of State does not get to invent new ones. If Fontes refuses to correct these unlawful provisions, the courts will."

Approval Process

Before any of these contested rules can take effect, they must survive a two-step approval process. Both Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes must sign off on the final version.

The final election manual will then set the rules for how Arizona runs its 2025 elections, marking a significant change for voters and election workers across the state.