Grand Canyon Times

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club scored a win against Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes after Fontes made changes to the 2023 Elections Procedures Manual (EPM). An Arizona Superior Court Judge cited concerns over free speech in her ruling, according to an Aug. 7 news release from the Arizona Free Enterprise Club.

"We applaud the court’s protection of Arizonans’ First Amendment rights during the exercise of their sacred privilege to vote in free and fair elections. The judge correctly realized that certain portions of Secretary Fontes’ illegal and radical manual were nothing more than a brazen attempt to destroy the integrity and transparency of state elections. Secretary Fontes and his team of leftwing ideologues must conform the entire manual to state law as is their statutory duty," said Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, in the organization’s Aug. 7 news release on the outcome of the case.

According to an Aug. 7 report from KTAR News, some of the provisions at issue were related to preventing voter intimidation, such as openly carrying firearms within 250 feet of a ballot drop box or harassing, intimidating, or yelling at people returning ballots.

Fontes, a Democrat, told KTAR News 92.3 that he plans to fight for voter protections and will appeal the decision. "I’m going to fight like heck to make sure that we have peaceful processes so that our voters are treated with dignity during this incredibly important point in time," Fontes told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News.

Judge Ryan-Touhill cited concerns related to free speech in her decision, writing: "The court is troubled by section III, ‘preserving order and security at the voting location.’" The decision goes on to say that "From pages 180 to 183, the EPM contains what the court finds to be speech restrictions in violation of our Arizona Constitution, misstates or modifies our statutes, and fails to identify any distinction between guidance and legal mandates."

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club is a nonprofit organization with policy goals including reducing income and property tax burdens in Arizona; opposing subsidies and special interest carve-outs in tax codes; supporting regulatory reform; promoting fiscal discipline; supporting consumer choice and freedom in education and healthcare systems; reducing public sector unions' influence in politics; and supporting employee rights.