WASHINGTON, DC – In a major victory for election integrity and free speech, an Arizona court has invalidated much of the Arizona Election Procedures Manual (EPM). The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) has challenged the EPM’s free speech provisions as a blatant violation of the Arizona Constitution.
The problematic free speech provision criminalizes expressing an opinion protected as free speech by the First Amendment, such as simply wearing a red hat or carrying a purse that says “Voting should be easy, but cheating should be hard,” near a polling place. The lawsuit filed by AFPI on behalf of the Arizona Free Enterprise Coalition claims that no government official has the authority to override the U.S. Constitution and that the free speech provision is unlawful.
The court agreed, stating, “Many of the prohibitions enumerated in the EPM concern free speech and are protected by both the Arizona Constitution and the United States Constitution.”
“This is a great victory for our clients and the people of Arizona. But the fight for election integrity is far from over,” said Pam Bondi, former Attorney General of Florida and Chair of the AFPI Center for Litigation“The America First Policy Institute will continue to make sure that in Arizona and across the country it is easy to vote but hard to cheat.”
You can read a copy of the court decision here.
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