Arizona

GOP organizations sue Arizona's top election official in latest dispute over election manual

Published

3 months ago

February 10, 2024

GOP organizations sue Arizona's top election official in latest dispute over election manual

National and local Republican groups in Arizona sued the secretary of state Friday in an effort to invalidate or adjust a manual, used for conducting elections and certifying results, that GOP leaders have said threatens election integrity.

The Republican National Committee, Arizona Republican Party and the Yavapai County Republican Party filed the lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court against Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat. It stems from updates Fontes made to the Elections Procedure Manual, which his office is required to do every two years.

It alleges violations of public comment and public disclosure requirements, along with specific provisions state officials approved for the manual. It’s the second suit Republicans have filed in two weeks that aims to change the elections manual.

The manual is written by the secretary of state and must be approved by the attorney general and governor, positions all currently held by Democrats. When all three sign off, the changes carry the force of law

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the manual is “designed to undermine election integrity in Arizona.” Arizona GOP Chairwoman Gina Swoboda also called it “a blatant attempt to rewrite election law” in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs’ main argument — which attempts to invalidate the entire manual — is that Fontes did not provide enough time for the public to comment on the proposed changes to the elections procedure manual. The plaintiffs claimed Fontes permitted 15 days of public comment, instead of the required 30, for a draft of the manual. They also said Fontes published an updated draft manual and submitted it to Gov. Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes for final approval without public comment.

The lawsuit also alleges Fontes ignored requirements under Arizona’s Administrative Procedures Act and that “critical portions “ of the manual were not disclosed to the public between the draft and final publication of the manual — which was released on Dec. 30, with adjustments from Hobbs and Mayes.

The GOP organizations additionally have challenged specific changes to the manual they said should be overturned, even if the entire manual is not invalidated. This includes a rule that allows otherwise-eligible “federal-only voters” to participate in presidential elections if they have not provided proof of citizenship in the past, and a rule which they claim limits the public’s access from records containing a voter’s signature.

Fontes’ office said in an emailed statement that they have not been officially served the lawsuit, though they were given a courtesy copy by the plaintiffs. A spokesperson added they do not comment on pending litigation.

In the earlier lawsuit filed Jan. 31, Republican House Speaker Ben Toma and Senate President Warren Peterson said certain changes to the manual did not comply with legislative authority.

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Arizona

NCAA Tournament: Arizona men advance to 3rd Sweet 16 in 4 years after sweep of Auburn

Published

7 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Press Room

NCAA Tournament: Arizona men advance to 3rd Sweet 16 in 4 years after sweep of Auburn

What a few years ago had been history has now become the standard.

Arizona advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row and third time in four years on Saturday, sweeping Auburn 4-0 in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament at the Lanelle Robson Tennis Center.

The ninth-seeded Wildcats (26-3) will visit No. 8 Columbia (22-3) next weekend in New York City, seeking the program’s first trip to the NCAA quarterfinals.

A day after sweeping Boise State, but admittedly not playing its best, Arizona made quick work of the Tigers by winning the doubles point without a tiebreaker and then taking a trio of singles in straight sets. Only one singles match got to a third set, a big difference from Friday when all three doubles teams needed to win in tiebreakers and half the singles matches went to three sets.

“I think this was a lot closer to our kind of standard, and what we expect from our team,” said junior Colton Smith, who clinched the match at No. 1 singles with a 7-5, 6-3 victory. “There’s still a lot more room for improvement.”

Added coach Clancy Shields: “We took an L yesterday, without taking an L.”

Shields felt his team didn’t play inspired in the first round, and while he was expecting a bit of a letdown after the Pac-12 Tournament win the previous weekend he was hoping they would put on a good performance for the crowd.

“This is the first time people paid to watch you play; give them a show,” Shields said.

Arizona’s other two wins were from a pair of seniors. Nick Lagaev won 7-5, 6-3 at No. 6 for his 95^th career singles victory, passing Filip Malbasic for the school record, and Herman Hoyeraal won 6-3, 6-4 at No. 4 and finished his match first.

“I’m just a big guy who plays big. Just big serves, big forehand, trying to finish points early,” said Hoyeraal, a native of Norway who had his father and two brothers in attendance for the final home match of his college career.

It will be on different courts, but Arizona’s matchup with Columbia will allow it to return to the scene of a huge moment in the 2023-24 season. In February the Wildcats took third in the ITA National Indoor Championship in Flushing, NY, beating ranked Texas and Texas A&M teams along the way.

“That was where we found out how good this team is,” Shields said.

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Arizona

Arizona Dad Finds Twin Toddlers Drowned in Backyard Pool

Published

14 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Press Room

Two twin toddlers died in Phoenix, Arizona on Thursday, after officers responded to a call saying that a child was drowning in a backyard pool. When first responders arrived, they discovered the father of Valentina and Penelope Ruiz attempting to do CPR on both three-year-old girls at the same time. “You can imagine what that would look like and how taxing that would be,” said Phoenix Fire Captain Rob McDade, according to Fox10. The two girls were rushed to the hospital in critical condition, where they were pronounced dead, according to police. Police said that preliminary information suggests that the drowning was accidental. “Remember a drowning is silent. Everybody thinks that you’re going to hear your child asking for help. It’s absolutely silent. So remember that,” said Captain McDade. “Again, it’s a tragic day. It is a tremendous loss for this family and for this community.”

Read it at Fox 10 Phoenix

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Arizona

What to know about Arizona Cardinals’ NFL offseason: Key dates, schedule release, more

Published

21 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Press Room

What to know about Arizona Cardinals’ NFL offseason: Key dates, schedule release, more

The Arizona Cardinals have had a busy offseason. They re-signed, signed in free agency or traded for a total of 19 players by the end of April. On top of that picked 12 players in the 2024 NFL draft.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon prepares for his second season leading the team. The Cardinals finished the 2023 season 4-13 under him, so there is plenty of room to improve. The team should have the benefit quarterback Kyler Murray to start the 2024 season. He missed the first nine games of last season while recovering from a torn ACL, which required surgery at the end of the 2022 season.

Now, their attention turns toward offseason key dates, camps, the schedule release and more. Here’s what you need to know about the Cardinals’ offseason and what’s next.

When is the Cardinals’ schedule release for 2024?

The NFL will release the 2024 schedule in May, and perhaps as early as the second week of the month. We know the Cardinals’ opponents already, just not the dates. Here is who Arizona will face this season: San Francisco twice, Seattle twice, Los Angeles Rams twice, Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota, Green Bay, Washington, Carolina, Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo, Miami, New England, New York Jets.

Cardinals’ opponents in 2024 NFL schedule

Home opponents: Rams, Seahawks 49ers, Bears, Lions, Patriots, Jets, Commanders, Chargers

Away opponents: Rams, Seahawks, 49ers, Vikings, Packers, Bills, Dolphins, Panthers,

When is Cardinals rookie camp and what is their offseason mini-camp schedule?

The Cardinals will first host their draft picks and undrafted free agents on May 10 for a mini-camp. There will be voluntary organized team activities for veterans and rookies over six days in May and four in June. A mandatory minicamp for veterans and rookies is set for June 11.

Mini-camps are short windows of time to start building chemistry with on-the-field football work. Most, if not all veterans, attend the voluntary sessions although they are technically not required to.

When do the Cardinals start training camp?

The Cardinals typically start camp at State Farm Stadium in the final week of July. Dates should be known by mid-May.

When will Cardinals make 53-man roster cuts?

Those typically happen over the final two weeks in August as teams pare down from 90 to 53 players, after training camp practices and preseason games.

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