The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the 200-word description of a ballot initiative to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution was valid, ensuring that voters would see the initiative on the state’s general election ballot.
The plaintiff in this case is Arizona Right to Life and the defendant is Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. Arizona Right to Life is a nonprofit organization that advocates for pro-life legislation. The initiative to amend the Arizona Constitution to include a fundamental right to abortion was organized by abortion rights activists in Arizona. These activists collected at least 383,923 signatures from eligible Arizona voters in support of the amendment, as required by state law to put it on the ballot.
The court unanimously affirmed the decision of the Maricopa County Superior Court, which had also found that the initiative description was valid and would have allowed the initiative in the general election pamphlet and on the ballot.
According to Arizona Revised Statutes (19-102), the initiative description must be no more than 200 words long. To be disqualified, it must either “(1) omit a ‘major provision’ of the measure” or (2) not accurately state the general objectives of the major provisions.” Plaintiff challenged the description on the second count, arguing that the general objectives were not accurately stated.
In analyzing the accuracy of the description, the court concluded that the description was an adequate characterization of the initiative’s goals and that it did not contain anything that “conveys objectively false or misleading information or obscures the basic thrust of the main provisions,” which is contrary to Arizona law. In addition, the court explained that the description does not need to include the impact or consequences the initiative might have on existing law, despite the plaintiff’s argument that it does. Rather, the court held that a reasonable person could understand that existing law that contradicts the amendment would be invalid if it were adopted.
The plaintiff in this case sought a preliminary injunction, but the court affirmed the high court’s denial of the motion. This decision allows the Arizona Secretary of State to proceed under Title 19 and include the initiative in the general election pamphlet and on the statewide ballot, as noted.
The United States Supreme Court struck down the federal right to abortion in 2022. Other states, including Florida and Missouri, will also consider changes to their state constitutions to address various areas of abortion rights in their November 2024 general elections. Ohio voters were able to enshrine a constitutional right to abortion in their November 2023 election.
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