A judge has ruled against the Republican National Committee in a lawsuit that challenged Arizona’s new voting rulebook and alleged it would allow election fraud.The suit, filed in February, is one of several from Republicans questioning the state’s new Elections Procedures Manual. That document serves as a guide to election management for county officials statewide and is produced every election cycle by the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office, which is currently run by Adrian Fontes, a Democrat.Republicans plaintiffs said the new rulebook would weaken safeguards against non-citizen voting and undermine recent election integrity laws. They also accused Fontes of creating an “artificially short period for public comment.”Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Frank Moskowitz said Friday that the new guidebook “does not contradict or directly conflict” with existing state statute. He also dismissed claims that Fontes improperly limited public input on the new voting rules, noting the Secretary of State’s Office received “a substantial amount of public comment.””There is a primary election coming up in July and the general election in November,” Moskowitz wrote in his order. “Yet, plaintiffs ask this court to order that those elections be governed by the 2019 EPM, which… also contains several of the same provisions complained about below and does not address subsequent changes in state and federal election laws.”View in new tabJP Martin, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Office, said the ruling confirms the new guidebook “meets Arizona’s statutory requirements.””We used this manual to effectively run the presidential preference election in March and will continue using the EPM to ensure fair elections in the upcoming primary and general,” Martin said.An attorney representing the Repu …
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