By Mary Jo Pitzl Arizona Republic
The fight between two high-level state officials over a little-known manual that outlines election procedures in Arizona is now going to court.
On Thursday, Attorney General Mark Brnovich asked the Yavapai County Superior Court to force Secretary of State Katie Hobbs to produce an updated and “lawful” Elections Procedures Manual for the 2022 election.
In his filing, Brnovich, who is seeking the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, said Hobbs, a Democrat who is running for governor, failed to produce the manual as required by law. He wants an updated manual that would include a number of provisions, many of which appear to have arisen out of his office’s investigation of the 2020 election, including concerns about unmonitored drop boxes. A preliminary report on that probe was released earlier this month to the state Senate.
Hobbs’ office did not immediately respond to the lawsuit. But her legislative director noted on social media that Brnovich in 2019 helped to write the very rules that allow the use of drop boxes for ballot collection without any mention of requirements for monitoring them.
The lack of an updated manual is the result of a standoff between Hobbs and Brnovich. Late last year, Hobbs submitted a draft version of the manual, which must be updated every odd-numbered year, to Brnovich’s office for approval.
He sent back a demand to remove more than 100 provisions, according to the complaint filed with the Yavapai court.
Hobbs at the time accepted some of his deletions, but objected to others, arguing Brnovich sought to remove nearly one-third of the manual’s provisions without providing any legal justification.
With no agreement between the two, and with a Dec. 31, 2021, deadline looming, the proposed 2021 manual could not take effect. That left the existing 2019 manual in force for this year’s elections.
