Arizona's attorney general, secretary of state urge court to reject GOP early ballot suit

Arizona Republican Party wants to end early voting

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs are urging the state Supreme Court to reject a request to call early voting unconstitutional.

PHOENIX (AP) - Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs both urged the state Supreme Court Friday not to accept a petition filed by the Arizona Republican Party asking to strike down early voting laws used by 90% of voters.

Brnovich and Hobbs laid out their arguments in separate filings with the Supreme Court.

Brnovich said the court has no jurisdiction to take on the question but did not take a position on the GOP’s argument that early voting is unconstitutional. Lawyers for Hobbs defended the early voting laws, writing, "Arizona’s early voting system is secure, efficient, and complies with the Arizona Constitution."

The Arizona Republican Party and its secretary, Yvonne Cahill, filed the Supreme Court petition last month. It asks the justices to get rid of all early voting or at least eliminate the no-excuse absentee balloting system Arizona adopted in 1991 and steadily expanded ever since.

The GOP lawsuit also argues that Hobbs erred by failing to include procedures for early ballot signature verification in the elections procedure manual and by including rules for ballot drop boxes.

Brnovich sidestepped that question and asked the justices to decide instead whether the 2019 elections procedure manual is valid.