County recorders, Republican lawmakers push for more say on elections rule book

Arizona’s county recorders, along with Republican legislative leaders, want more say in the creation of the state’s elections rulebook.

Every other year, the Arizona secretary of state is tasked with revising the Elections Procedures Manual, which outlines procedures and rules for county elections officials to implement state election laws. Its policies carry the force of law in most cases.

The secretary is required to get input on the manual from the county boards of supervisors, and the final version must get approval from the governor and attorney general before it’s published.

Arizona’s offices of secretary of state, governor and attorney general are all currently held by Democrats. The Republicans who control the Arizona Legislature took Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to court to challenge numerous changes he made to the 2023 version of the EPM, which they said conflicted with state law. The courts agreed with some, but not all of the legislators’ arguments, and set aside some of the EPM’s provisions.



https://azmirror.com/2026/04/03/county-recorders-republican-lawmakers-push-for-more-say-on-elections-rule-book/