PHOENIX β€” Arizona’s Republican attorney general is seeking a voice in the lawsuit Texas has brought against four other states won by Democrat Joe Biden.

But Attorney General Mark Brnovich isn’t siding with Texas or against it.

In legal papers filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, Brnovich said he wants to file a brief to argue the importance of β€œelection integrity.”

What’s telling, though, is that Brnovich is not joining with 17 other Republican attorneys general who filed their own brief with the Supreme Court siding with Texas.

Arizona officials have certified Joe Biden’s narrow victory over President Donald Trump in the state. Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Republican Gov. Doug Ducey stood up for the integrity of the election even as lawyers for Trump were across town Monday arguing without evidence to nine Republican lawmakers that the election was marred by fraud.

They are asking the justices to back Texas in its bid to block a final vote by the Electoral College while the court considers allegations that illegal changes in laws in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin created opportunity for fraud, though no actual instances of fraud are alleged.

Instead, Brnovich aide Ryan Anderson said his boss wants to ensure that any ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court about laws and rules that govern election laws do not undermine Arizona’s own regulations.

Anderson said as far as Brnovich is concerned, Arizona does elections right, which is why it wasn’t sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as were the four other states, where, as in Arizona, Biden won the popular vote.

Anderson left no question about what Brnovich thinks of how Arizona conducted the election. β€œThe Arizona attorney general will not be advocating to overturn the election results in Arizona,” he said.

Brnovich does share one sentiment with his Texas counterpart, Anderson said. β€œWe all agree that the integrity of our elections are important,” he said. β€œAnd there are too many Americans who do not trust the outcome of the election.”

But Anderson said Arizona’s interest in the legal fight is different than that of the other Republican attorneys general.

The lawsuit filed by Paxton charges that changes made this year to election procedures in the four battleground states, many due to the impact of the pandemic, are illegal. In essence, he said the changes, some enacted by courts, weakened ballot-integrity statutes.

Courts in each of those states have dismissed similar claims. But Paxton argues it is the responsibility of the nation’s highest court to intercede and declare that the procedures used in those four states were illegal and therefore the results should not be allowed to stand.

It’s not clear the Supreme Court will even consider the Texas petition. But Anderson said if the justices take it up, Brnovich wants to be sure that any ruling they issue respects the interests of Arizona: That it is the Legislature that has prime say over how elections are conducted, and not courts or officials of the executive branch.

That’s crucial, he said, because Arizona already has some of the laws that the Texas lawsuit says are lacking or were ignored elsewhere.

For example, Paxton complained that some states do not require that signatures on envelopes with early ballots be compared with records on file. Arizona requires matching of all envelopes received.

He also said that some states β€œflooded their citizenry with tens of millions of ballot applications and ballots,” ignoring normal controls. Arizona sends early ballots only to those who request them.

Anderson also said Brnovich fought off various efforts to allow last-minute changes in Arizona election laws, ranging from how county election officials must handle unsigned early ballots, to extending the deadline for people registering to vote.

Brnovich is not the only Arizona elected official weighing in at the Supreme Court.

Ten state representatives and three senators, all Republicans, joined with counterparts from Alaska and Idaho on Thursday in filing their own brief in support of Texas.

β€œAn elite group of sitting Democrat officers in each of the defendant states coordinated with the Democrat party to illegally and unconstitutionally change the rules established by the legislature in the defendant states, thereby depriving the people of their states a free and fair election β€” the very basis of a republican form of government,” they contend through their attorneys.

The representatives are Nancy Barto, Frank Carroll, John Fillmore, Mark Finchem, Travis Granthan, Anthony Kern, David Livingston, Steve Pierce, Bret Roberts and Kelly Townsend. The senators are Sylvia Allen, Sonny Borrelli and David Gowan.

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