Arizona Maricopa County Election Workers Regulations Challenge

Lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Republican Party of Arizona against the Maricopa County recorder and other Maricopa County officials alleging that the county has violated the requirements of the Arizona Equal Access Statutes by imposing strict regulations on election workers and making it harder for Republicans to participate in election administration. The Republican plaintiffs assert that “11 Maricopa County voting centers during the 2022 primary election did not have any Republican poll workers” and that the defendants “failed to contact federal, state, or county Republican Party officials to discuss and remedy any last-minute shortfall in Republican workers in the 2022 primary election.” Furthermore, the plaintiffs argue that Maricopa County has violated the equal representation requirements of the Elections Procedures Manual of 2019 by imposing “onerous requirements,” including “a minimum hours requirement” and a “minimum durational requirement,” that deter “nearIy all citizens who would be willing to participate in the administration of elections.” They also allege that the defendants maintain “inhospitable working conditions” and fail “to organize a ‘bullpen’ of board appointees to backfill reasonably foreseeable vacancies.”

The plaintiffs request an injunction or mandamus (a court order compelling a party to take a certain action) that includes “a relaxation of Maricopa County’s hours requirements for board appointees, the maintenance of reasonably hospitable workplace conditions such that the attrition rate of board appointees does not result in the unlawful and unrepresentative administration of elections, and the maintenance of a bullpen of Republican election workers sufficient to backfill projected attrition amongst other Republican board appointees arising due to inhospitable work conditions.”

The court dismissed the case on Feb. 13, 2023.

Last updated: February 13, 2023 11:27 am EST