Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has endorsed Dan Toporek in a contested legislative district in north Phoenix, setting off fresh questions about whether an election official can back a candidate while still running the state’s elections. The complaint that prompted the discussion was filed with the Arizona Secretary of State and asked whether officials can carry out election duties while exercising free speech rights.
Fontes said he sees no conflict. “I can chew gum and walk at the same time,” he said, adding, “I’m a voter, too, and I have a First Amendment right to express myself.” On the same day, he said he is tending to his secretary duties in the upcoming primary and general elections while seeking a second term.
The issue matters now because Arizona is heading into another election cycle with its top election administrator on the ballot and publicly engaged in a contested race. Fontes is not the first Arizona secretary of state to do that. Jan Brewer was re-elected to the state’s top election office in 2006. Ken Bennett was on the ballot in 2010. Michele Reagan was on the ballot in 2018 and lost in the primary. Four years ago, Katie Hobbs faced similar questions about overseeing the 2022 election while running for governor, and she did not recuse herself.
Arizona law appears to give Fontes room to do both. State law does not bar endorsements by election officials, and it does not block an election official’s management and oversight of elections when they themselves are on the ballot. A review by the National Association of Secretaries of State reached a similar conclusion when it examined conflict-of-interest policies nationwide. That leaves the fight less about a clear legal prohibition than about the appearance of neutrality, a line that can matter even when the law allows the conduct.
The concern is not new. Tammy Patrick said these questions often come up when people discuss election infrastructure. In 2000, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris oversaw the recount of Florida’s presidential election results and certified George W. Bush as the winner, while also serving as co-chair of Bush’s campaign in Florida. More recently, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is running for governor, has said she would formally recuse herself from actions that would affect the gubernatorial race. Utah has taken a different approach, with a recent state law requiring election officials to take steps to avoid potential conflicts.
Fontes said no secretary has ever recused for that purpose and that he does not intend to begin now. He also pointed to his own previous experience: he served as Maricopa County recorder in 2020, was on the ballot seeking re-election that year, lost, and stepped down afterward. That history suggests Arizona has already lived through the practical test of having an election official run for office while still carrying out the job. What remains unsettled is not whether Fontes can do it under Arizona law. He can. The question now is whether voters are comfortable with an elections chief who is both referee and partisan backer at the same time.
