Co-chairs Richard Rosales and Rebecca Timmer introduced attendees and Secretary Fontes:
In 2022, Adrian Fontes was elected as Arizona’s 21st Secretary of State. He is committed to preserving integrity in our elections, making voting easier for registered voters, and ensuring that Arizona’s business community has a non-partisan partner in the Secretary’s office. Secretary Fontes is a proud Arizona native, an honorable veteran of the United States Marine Corps. After graduating from law school, Secretary Fontes spent his career advocating for justice and fighting for those who are disadvantaged — first as a prosecutor with the Denver District Attorney and then at the Maricopa County Attorney’s office. He later led the International Prosecution Unit at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. He practiced law for 15 years before running for office in 2016 when he was elected Maricopa County Recorder. As Recorder, Secretary Fontes revolutionized the election system by ensuring that every eligible Arizonan had the access they needed to vote. Adrian enhanced ballot tracking technology and increased process transparency, winning recognition and awards from election organizations across the country.
Secretary Fontes congratulated Pinal County on our new election facility just featured in the New York Post article referencing election transparency.
- The thickness of voter pamphlet credit to the number of propositions and number of letters for or against a proposition.
- The vast majority of Arizonans will have 2 card mail-in ballots. Pay close attention to ensure you send back your complete ballot
- Supreme Court ruling in favor of keeping voters in this cycle caught in the issue of not providing proof of citizenship at the time they registered due to a system error
- Concern about foreign actors infiltrating elections with deep fake messaging during campaigns led to AZ Elections recruiting graduate students to work election and ensure offices have adequate staffing to combat this issue.
- In addition to Elections, State Archives and the Talking Book Library are under Secretary Fontes’ office.
- He highlighted the Talking Book Library is a great resource for disabled Arizonans
- Historical Archives has had an influx of funds to digitize historical newspapers and documents
- The Business Services Division includes Business One-Stop, a single source on internet to find information on starting a business, licensing, governmental forms and regulatory requirements. The Department of State is the only department that has all of its documents on the One-Stop site and has been preserved despite the threat of being cut from budget this year. Critical to rural small businesses and entrepreneurs that don’t have the convenience of urban areas. gov is portal to access this information
Doug Fant complimented the staff of the Department for their support of small businesses he works with.
Richard asked about the semi-quincentennial (250 Years) nationwide celebration of the Declaration of Independence July, 2026. Sect. Fontes is the chair of AZ’s America250 Commission and is working to make the celebration truly memorable with potential activities including:
- Hike 250, Treasure 250, Dine 250 and Cheers 250 with a website that will act like a passport to check off participation.
- A Mobile Museum will include a replica of the Liberty Bell and drive it around AZ, picking up items across the state to put into a time capsule.
- gov is calling for designers and artists to participate the logo contest
- Contact lterech@azsos.gov for more information
Rebecca shared important election dates:
- October 7 – Voter Registration Deadline
- October 9 – Ballots Mailed to Early Voter List/Early Voting Begins
- October 25 – Last Day to Request Ballot by Mail
- October 29 – Last Day to Mail Ballot
- November 1 – Last Day to Vote Early In Person
- November 5 – General Election Day10/7/24 Registration Deadline
The next PPGRC Meeting will be on October 22nd.
Our next Monthly Breakfast Meeting is this Friday September 27th. Register now as seats are going fast! Save the date for future breakfasts: October 25th, November 22nd and December 13th.
Visit https://pinalpartnership.com/meetings-and-events/ for more information.
