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Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022

Can county recorders in Arizona come up with their own election laws?


no

Though the Arizona Secretary of State consults with county recorders to develop the state’s Election Procedures Manual, recorders have no power to single-handedly create or change state election law. Only the Arizona Legislature can do that, as established by the Constitution.

A county recorder's responsibilities instead include maintaining and processing voter registration records, verifying voter signatures and administering early voting, among others.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, then-Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes’ authority over election protocols was called into question when he unilaterally tried to change how his office handled ballots for the state’s Democratic Presidential Preference Election. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich sued to prevent the change, and a Maricopa County Superior Court judge sided with Brnovich, indicating Fontes had overstepped.

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