County official who resigned in dispute with GOP promoted to top Arizona election post

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has shuffled some of his top staff, elevating the former Cochise County elections director to a top post in his office.

Lisa Marra left her post in the southeastern Arizona county in the wake of the controversy that erupted over the 2022 election. Marra refused to follow directives from the county's two Republican supervisors, who wanted to conduct a hand count of general election returns.

She resigned, citing a toxic workplace, and won a $130,000 settlement from the county to compensate for her treatment.

Fontes hired her in spring 2023 as assistant elections director. She will now serve as elections director for the state.

Earlier this week, Fontes moved elections director Colleen Connor to the new position of director of policy. The veteran attorney will monitor election-related lawsuits. She'll also oversee implementation of the state's Elections Procedures Manual, which is the subject of three separate lawsuits filed by conservative groups and lawmakers. Connor will be responsible for developing policy needed to comply with new legislation and court rulings.

Marra will assume Connor's previous duties, which include serving as point person for elections officials in all 15 counties. She'll also be responsible for overseeing equipment testing, candidate and petition filing, election night reporting, and election canvassing.

“Both Colleen and Lisa have been pivotal to our team’s success, notably in finalizing the Elections Procedures Manual and coordinating the certification of over 500 election officials," Fontes said in a statement. "Their dedication and hard work have set a high standard for excellence in Arizona’s elections processes."

Fontes also announced Deputy Secretary of State Keely Varvel will take on the additional duty of overseeing AVID, the statewide voter registration database.

There are other changes coming to the office.

To address the exodus of election workers statewide, the secretary's office is launching a fellowship program aimed at attracting a new generation of election staffers. The fellowship program will pair college students and recent graduates with election workers in a five-month program that will expose the fellows to the intricacies of election management.

The program includes a $15,000 stipend. Applications are now open and can be found on the secretary of state's website.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Lisa Marra, former Cochise official, named AZ's new elections director