Today, the Democratic National Committee and Arizona Democratic Party are taking legal action to protect against attacks on critical provisions in Arizona’s Elections Procedures Manual, which is essential to ensuring that county officials are able to conduct safe, free, and fair elections. 

Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison and Arizona Democratic Party Chair Yolanda Bejarano released the following joint statement:

“These lawsuits are a blatant attempt to interfere with Arizona’s elections and we will not let Republicans get away with their dangerous agenda to undermine our democracy. Democrats are fighting back with every tool at our disposal to ensure that every eligible voter across Arizona has an opportunity to make their voice heard at the ballot box, and participate in free and fair elections.” 

Additional background below on the DNC’s and ADP’s legal actions: 

The Elections Procedures Manual (EPM) is the key guidance document for election officials in Arizona.  It provides critical guidance to these officials on all topics related to voting and election administration and is essential to ensuring elections run smoothly and all eligible voters have the opportunity to participate and have their ballots counted.

This month, Republican and third party groups started filing lawsuits challenging both the EPM as a whole and the enforcement of critical provisions, including those that prohibit various forms of voter intimidation and harassment at drop-boxes and polling locations. These lawsuits are aimed at limiting the options that voters have for casting their ballots in the November election and sowing chaos at drop-boxes and polling locations in an effort to deter voters from participating in the political process and undermining the results.  

The DNC and ADP are intervening to protect the rights of Arizona voters and to ensure that commonsense legal protections for voters and the election administration process remain in place.