Grand Canyon Times

Arizona State Reps. Steve Montenegro (R-29) and Michael Carbone (R-25) called on Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in an Aug. 4 tweet to set a longer public comment period than 15 days for his 2023 Elections Procedure Manual (EPM) draft.

“Secretary Fontes only released his draft on Tuesday and set the deadline for August 15, even though he is not required to produce it to the Governor or Attorney General until October 1,” Montenegro and Carbone said in a press release.

“The Elections Procedures Manual is of paramount importance to ensuring the integrity and security of election administration in Arizona,” Montenegro said in the press release. “Secretary Fontes should have given the public more than 15 days to review his extensive 259-page draft.”

“We urge Secretary Fontes to extend the public comment deadline to at least September 1, 2023, to give the public an adequate opportunity to review and provide input on the most important elections manual that will guide county officials in administering their duties in the 2024 elections,” Carbone said in the press release.

“Requiring public comments to be submitted by August 15th is simply too restrictive and does not provide adequate time for interested stakeholders to review the draft 2023 EPM for compliance with state law,” Carbone said in the release. “It is our understanding that several provisions have already been identified that appear to run afoul of state law.”

Montenegro, from Litchfield Park, was elected to the House in 2022 after previously serving as a House member and then as a member of the State Senate. He then ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Congress before being elected to the House again. He is a former House majority leader and was speaker pro tempore, his Wikipedia bio says.

Carbone, a native of Chicago who lives in Buckeye, was elected in 2022 to represent District 25, Wikipedia says.