ICYMI: Fontes: Republicans are ‘tired of democracy’

By Sabrina Jacobs

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 05: Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes speaks at the Arizona Democratic Election Night Watch Party on November 5, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) isn’t new to the fight for democracy. As Maricopa County Recorder, he faced death threats and violent protests during the turbulent election audit in 2021. Now, as his state’s chief elections official, he’s willing to go to jail to protect democracy. 

Fontes sat down with Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias to discuss the U.S. Department of Justice’s illegal request for voter rolls, his plan to protect voters in 2026, and why Arizona “puts the AZ in crazy.” 

  • On the new battle we’re fighting: “We’ve got some of the bad guys inside of the castle now in election administration offices across the United States of America and we’re fighting a different kind of battle. Back then it was from the outside. Back then it was people who had been pushed out and they were banging on the door. Now we’ve got them inside of the system.”
  • On Maricopa County’s results: “Accurate results take more money. Fast, accurate or cheap? You can’t have all three. You’ve got to pick two. We have always thought in Arizona, we need accuracy… by saying that slower results means less dependability, which is the exact opposite of what’s true, they [Republicans] have weaponized the notion of accuracy.” 
  • On GOP efforts to destroy our election systems: “They [Republicans] don’t want elections to happen in this country. They’re tired of democracy. They’re tired of the fact that you as a voter get to decide who is in power, because every once in a while, you’ll pick somebody other than them. They’re tired of the fact that Americans get a choice and that Americans all get a chance to actually speak up. That is the biggest problem that we’ve got and that we’re fighting against. We want to hear every American voice.”
  • On DOJ demands for voter rolls: “They’re going to have to put me in jail if they want this information and have somebody else give it to them because I’m not going to do it… It’s going to be a knockdown drag out fight. I will not turn this data over as long as I am the Secretary of State here in Arizona.”