In an awesome win for conservatives and election integrity in
November's elections, a federal judge has barred liberal Arizona
Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes from putting into practice new
rules he inserted into the state's official procedures on the state's
canvassing process of election results. And the judge did, indeed,
compare it to nukes. More on that in a minute.
Howard Fischer from Capitol Media Services has the scoop on Friday's ruling:
PHOENIX
— Calling what Secretary of State Adrian Fontes proposed "utterly
without precedent'' and comparing it to a nuclear weapon, a federal
judge blocked him from refusing to include a county's vote in the
statewide totals if local supervisors fail to certify the election's
results.
In the ruling late Friday, U.S. District Court Judge
Michael Liburdi acknowledged there was at least one attempt in the past
by a board of supervisors to delay certification. That action threatened
to hold up the formal canvass of all the votes throughout the state and
to change the outcomes of some races.
But Liburdi said the
solution Fontes incorporated in Arizona's Elections Procedures Manual —
allowing him to skip over uncertified votes simply to finalize the state
results — would unfairly and illegally disenfranchise the voters who
had cast their ballots.
The report continues:
Consider,
Liburdi said, what would happen if supervisors balked in Maricopa
County, the state's most populous, where 2.4 million people vote.
Under
the rules Fontes, an elected Democrat, enacted in the manual, he would
be permitted to certify the state results without including those votes —
meaning the results would be determined by votes only from the other 14
counties.
Judge Liburdi wrote:
"If the right to vote is the
right of qualified voters within a state to cast their ballots and have
them counted, then the canvass provision imposes the most severe burden:
state-sanctioned disenfranchisement.
...
"A registered
voter in Arizona may perfectly comply with all voting requirements and
obligations but nonetheless have her vote excluded based on the mal- or
nonfeasance of public officials."
The best part,
though, was when Liburdi chastised Fontes for his office's lame excuse
for needing the rule; Fontes claimed "the provision was meant largely to
spur county supervisors to comply with the law and likely would never
be enforced." The judge wasn't having it:
"A nuclear weapon does not become any less dangerous simply because a world leader avows never to unleash it.
...
"The canvass provision imposes a nuclear-level burden on voting rights.
"It is a weapon in the secretary's arsenal that he has discretion
to use should the circumstances present themselves — a weapon that does
not become any less threatening simply because the secretary is
self-professedly 'committed' to not pulling the trigger.''
And while the judge's ruling does not remove the rule from the procedures, it bars him from leaning on it for 2024:
Strictly
speaking, Liburdi's order does not void the provision of the manual.
That would take a full-blown trial. But it does preclude Fontes from
enforcing or relying on that provision this year.
Read related:
NEW: SCOTUS Allows Arizona Law Requiring Proof of Citizenship in Voter Registration to Take Effect
BREAKING: Ninth Circuit Delivers Decision on Citizenship and Voter Registration in Arizona
According to Ballotopedia, Judge Liburdi was appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2019/
There was a second provision that Liburdi blocked, which appears to be a progressive attempt to thwart election observers
The
challengers in the lawsuit, two groups with ties to Republican
interests, also convinced Liburdi to bar Fontes from enforcing another
provision dealing with speech and actions permitted in and around voting
locations.
That language would have prohibited "any activity by a
person with the intent or effect of threatening, harassing,
intimidating, or coercing voters … inside or outside the 75-foot limit
at a voting location.''
Liburdi found it was too
broad, and likely to burden Arizonans' First Amendment rights, writing
in the decision that "there's no problem in general with barring
intentional threats, intimidation or coercion," but "[t]he issue, he
said, turns on the fact the wording also covers actions that have the
effect of doing so, regardless of the intent of the person":
He
also noted that, as written, the manual governs actions beyond the
75-foot perimeter in which certain activities are forbidden by statute,
such as campaigning or taking pictures.
"Thus, speech that a
listener finds too loud, too offensive or too insolent — potentially
anywhere in Arizona — is prohibited,'' Liburdi wrote. "But it has long been established that speech may not be prohibited because it concerns subjects offending our sensibilities.''
And then there's the fact that the prohibition would be based solely on the reaction of the listener.
"Plaintiffs do not have fair notice of what speech is prohibited,''
Liburdi wrote. The provision could be enforced by a poll worker who
would have the ability to eject someone from a polling place, even
before they cast their ballot, he said.
"Moreover, the
rule prohibits 'offensive' or 'insulting' speech without defining what
categories of speech rise to the requisite level of offense or insult,''
he continued. "Without any limitation, election officials and poll
workers have nearly unfettered discretion in categorizing and regulating
a voter's speech.'' [emphasis added]
American Encore, "an Arizona-based group run by Sean Noble that bills
itself as promoting free enterprise policies," and America First Policy
Institute, filed the suit
on behalf of an Arizona voter on July 8th "against Arizona’s Secretary
of State Adrian Fontes (D), Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) and Gover
[sic] Katie Hobbs (D) in federal court, challenging two provisions of
the state’s 2023 EPM. The case against Hobbs was later dropped."
It's one of several lawsuits striving to uphold election integrity in states across the country:
BREAKING: Pennsylvania Court Ruling a Massive Election Integrity Win on Mail-In Ballots
RNC Battles Election Fraud in Another State, Files Suit on NC Absentee Ballot Policy That Breaks Law
Fontes' office responded to the ruling in a statement:
Fontes
press aide Aaron Thacker said the office "will do a deeper dive on the
decision and determine what we will do next if we need to do anything at
all.''
You can read the full order here.
As this is a developing story, RedState will provide updates as warranted.
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