A judge has struck down Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ election plan that included broad “vote centers” in Pinal County, ruling that the county never voted to conduct its elections that way and it could make voting harder on the disabled there.
The May 1 ruling by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney was intended to provide a legal answer to the long-simmering dispute over Fontes’ election procedures manual and leave time for an expected appeal before the state’s July primary elections.
Blaney also ruled against Fontes on a provision of his statewide election manual that required voting devices to include “all ballot styles” in a county, something a Pinal County judge ruled was improper in 2024 as well.
Blaney held that Fontes’ powers as secretary of state don’t extend to the details that involve how counties use and tally special voting equipment intended for the handicapped. Fontes maintained that the system he called for accommodates voter needs more fully, including the handicapped.
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The judge ordered Pinal County to provide a tally of its legal expenses in the matter, which Fontes’ office could owe.
Jeffrey McClure, the chair of the entirely Republican Board of Supervisors, said state law has always given county boards control over the style of voting, not the secretary of state.
“Pinal County has always utilized the precinct-based voting model, and our voters tell us they want to keep it that way, primarily for reasons of security and control,” he said in a statement.
Pinal County Recorder Dana Lewis, a Republican, said Blaney blocked Fontes from usurping the county’s powers.
“The Court found what we have contended, that the Elections Procedures Manual overstepped its bounds. The decision reaffirmed that remaining a precinct-based system is a local county decision, and that it is not within the Secretary’s authority to create de facto voting centers.”
In a statement, Calli Jones, a Fontes spokeswoman, called the ruling a limited setback.
Fontes
“Our office is disappointed that judge’s ruling will make it harder for voters with a disability to vote in Pinal county than in any other county in Arizona,” she said.
“However, while our office looks to our next steps, we recognize that this ruling affects only one very small provision in a manual that gives the counties very clear guidance on election administration issues.
Jones said the procedures manual came about in collaboration with county recorders and election directors and has the support of Attorney General Kris Mayes and Gov. Katie Hobbs.
In siding with the Pinal County Board of Supervisors, Blaney held that the board’s preferred “polling place” election system can offer a more efficient process for voters.
“There are several advantages to using a polling place model,” Blaney wrote. “For instance, precinct-style voting ‘helps to distribute voters more evenly among polling places and thus reduces wait times.’”
Precincts typically only offer ballots that reflect the specific races that only residents in that area are able to vote on. Vote centers have more types of ballots and allow voters to vote in any such location countywide, though they still cannot vote in races outside where they reside.
Fontes, a Democrat, used vote centers in Maricopa County when he was the county recorder.
His preferred vote centers would require Pinal County officials to make time-intensive software changes to offer all possible ballots within the county at every location and would undermine the county’s efforts to educate the public about where they can properly vote, Blaney ruled.
It specifically affects what are known as Accessible Voting Devices, or AVDs, which are required for the handicapped under the federal Help America Vote Act.
Processes that would direct a wider usage of the AVDs “threatens to disenfranchise disabled voters by creating long lines at AVD machines,” Blaney wrote.
“Even if disabled voters are not disenfranchised, these voters justifiably express frustration when non-disabled individuals use devices — like AVDs — that are specifically designed for disabled persons.”
The Blaney ruling comes days after Fontes scored a significant legal win over the U.S. Justice Department in its efforts to acquire Arizona’s voter information files. A federal judge held that the government had not put forth any valid reason for such a broad request.
It made Arizona the sixth state to win in challenging the Justice Department’s search for voter information.
