Fontes: Arizonans agree election administration is poorly funded, Iran war adding stress

PHOENIX — Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said Wednesday his office hasn’t received enough federal aid since he was elected in 2022 to operate optimally on election nights and that state residents tend to agree.

He claimed on KTAR News’ Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos that he requested money the past three budget cycles and hasn’t gotten “anything on it,” all while Arizona’s election reporting is primarily being run by one individual Fontes said is “in his 70s.”

“The Center for the Future of Arizona just came out with a very important study (in January) … it talks about what Arizonans feel about elections, election administration,” Fontes said. “And the majority of Americans want more money, Arizonans want more money (87% support funding increase) into election administration.”

The same study said that 79% of Arizonans who responded believe “their vote can change things for the better,” while slightly less (73%) think 2026 election results will be certified and trustworthy.

On the same note of not receiving requested funding, Fontes added that he doesn’t fault poll workers or counties for election murkiness or blatant dishonesty. That blame, he said, falls squarely on “policymakers.”

He referenced how Dallas County in Texas switched from having voting centers to precinct-based polling and made voting a chore rather than what should be a convenient civic honor.

“This was the political types who wanted to try to manipulate an outcome by changing the rules of the game,” Fontes said. “And that’s not what anybody in America likes. We like a fair shot. Tell us what the rules are, everybody plays by the same rules.”

With the state’s long-standing signature verification system and voter ID requirement for in-person voting, Fontes said Arizona elections are secure in principle, just lacking in proper technological reinforcement.

“We go very carefully and we look through a variety of different databases to make sure that this is an actual person, that the dates match, make sure that they have to submit proof of citizenship in Arizona,” Fontes said. “When you say voting by mail is insecure, well, we know that’s not true.

“Here’s the hook. All these elected officials that got elected by ballot by mail are saying (the voting method is) unconstitutional. So, are they not legitimately elected?”

War with Iran putting election cybersecurity further in focus

The U.S. military’s strike on Iran over the weekend has put American gas under stress, and Fontes said his office is “locked in” on maintaining cybersecurity.

In fact, Fontes said when any international conflict or threat of conflict arises, the first call he makes is to “my IT guys.”

When the U.S. began striking Iran, Sec. Adrian Fontes says his first call was to his threat assessment team to make sure election systems are still “locked in.”

He wishes personally there was more clarity for why the attacks were happening, he added with @OutspokenKTAR. pic.twitter.com/Nke1KQF6SZ

— KTAR News 92.3 (@KTAR923) March 4, 2026

“The first call is to those threat assessment folks because they’ve got eyes and ears on stuff across the globe, and we want to make sure that at least in so far as our election systems are concerned, that we’re locked in,” Fontes said.

Though the alertness is high, Fontes claimed the state legislature “has for years starved almost every state agency from being able to update and secure our information technology,” making defense a much more difficult challenge.

“We’ve got some systems that the computer systems, the servers are old enough to vote and then some, which is pathetic when really think about the fact that these are your votes, this is your election system,” Fontes said.

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