Secretary of state changes notification processes in face of Arizona Republican Party criticism

The Arizona Secretary of State's Office will make a better effort to notify the state's established political parties when any group files to become a new political party in the wake of complaints from the state GOP.

The Arizona Republican Party said in a statement posted on social media on Thursday that Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes handled the filing for No Labels last March more transparently than he did for the recent filing by the election-denying Patriot Party of Arizona. It accused Fontes of blocking the GOP from observing the process and failing to provide copies of petitions the group filed in a timely manner.

When the office finally sent the petitions, which contained the thousands of voter signatures needed to make the Patriot Party an official party under state law, Republicans say "many" had their dates cut off. The state party said that prevented officials from verifying the signatures independently.

The different procedures helped Democrats to scrutinize the process with No Labels and prevented Republicans from doing the same with the Patriot Party, according to the state GOP.

“When petitions are filed, it is important to file challenges in a timely fashion,” state GOP Chair Jeff DeWit told The Arizona Republic. Fontes’ “purposely placement of roadblocks when the Republican Party is involved costs Republicans considerably more time and money than the Democrats to pursue a similar action.”

The Secretary of State's Office responded Thursday that while its procedures followed the law, it has changed them following the criticism.

"As part of the transition to the Fontes administration, a total change of executive staffing in the elections department resulted in refining and changing internal processes," the office said. "After receiving community input, we have updated the process to include observers from other political parties. While this is not a statutory obligation, the Secretary values transparency and is responsive to constructive feedback.”

Former state Rep. John Fillmore, an Apache Junction Republican who replaced Steve Daniels as leader of the Patriot Party of Arizona earlier this year, filed more than 38,000 signatures on Oct. 24. New parties need at least 34,127 valid signatures to qualify.

“Filing paperwork and petitions for a new party to begin the Patriot party of Arizona,” Fillmore posted on X.com that day. “Petition being scanned as we watch.”

Procedures different, GOP and Democrats agree

The GOP said when No Labels filed its signatures to become a new party in Arizona last March, Fontes invited observers of all three recognized political parties in Arizona at the time ― Democrat, Republican and Libertarian ― to witness the filing and scanning-in of all its petitions with voter signatures.

No Labels is opposed by Democrats, who tried unsuccessfully to challenge No Labels’ signatures and keep it off the ballot out of concerns. Democrats are worried No Labels’ ambition to field a third-party candidate in next year's presidential race will prove a spoiler for President Joe Biden. The Arizona Democratic Party later filed a complaint about No Labels that’s still pending with the Secretary of State’s Office. Fontes, referencing Arizona law, also has opposed the party's attempt to keep candidates for any other race besides president off the 2024 ballot.

By contrast, Fontes didn’t notify the state GOP when the Arizona Patriot Party filed, the GOP complained.

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Democratic Party officials concurred with the GOP's view of the process.

"ADP was not notified about the Patriot Party, so we did not have observers there," Morgan Dick, executive director of the Arizona Democratic Party, wrote in a text to The Republic. She added the party was invited and present when the No Labels officials presented their petitions, as was the Republican Party, which sent observers.

After the GOP found the Patriot Party's filing happened from “secondhand observers,” the party said Fontes' office rebuffed a request for observers to see the petitions scanned in. It had already been completed, officials reportedly told the GOP, which meant copies of the petitions had already been sent to county officials across the state for verification. “Many” of the petitions subsequently forwarded to Republicans had the dates cut off, according to the GOP. The office declined to re-scan the pages.

“Please be advised that our office does not have the resources to rescan all the pages,” the office told the state GOP’s lawyer, state Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, in a Nov. 7 email the GOP shared with The Republic. The email invited GOP officials to visit the office in person on Nov. 9 or 14 to view the copies in person.

“We know that Fontes is a liberal activist at heart, but he needs to realize that he was elected to serve all Arizonans equally and needs to treat all parties the same,” DeWit said.

After “considerable time and expense,” state GOP officials said they examined the petitions and concluded they don’t contain enough valid voter signatures to qualify the Patriot Party of Arizona.

Could Patriot Party of Arizona play role of spoilers?

Fillmore and other Patriot Party of Arizona members have been frequent critics of the Republican Party, taking ultraconservative positions that frustrate even some Trump supporters. Since the 2020 election, Fillmore and the group have advocated for a single day of voting in which no electronic machines would be used.

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If the group qualifies in the state and puts a presidential candidate on the ballot, the candidate could potentially divide Republican votes ― albeit in a minor way. It's a similar concern to how Democrats fear No Labels candidates will peel off Democratic votes.

The state GOP claims it just wants to keep the process fair. It predicted in its news release that if the Green Party moves forward in an expected bid to become an official party, Fontes will revert to a more transparent process again.

Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel indicated in a Fox News interview the GOP would file a lawsuit against Fontes if he certifies the Patriot Party.

Republic reporter Mary Jo Pitzl contributed to this article.

Reach the reporter at rstern@arizonarepublic.com or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fontes updates procedures in wake of AZ Republican Party criticism