PHOENIX (AZFamily) – The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that a challenge to Prop 140, a ballot initiative to change the state’s primary elections to an open primary system, can proceed even though ballots have already been printed.
The ruling came a day after the Supreme Court ruled that Proposition 140 was constitutional and could be on the ballot in November.
Last week, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Frank Moskowitz ruled that the ballot proposal had enough valid signatures to appear on the November ballot, invalidating 17,000 signatures. Earlier this month, Moskowitz rejected a claim that the proposal violated constitutional provisions.
For the bill to appear on this year’s ballot, at least 383,923 valid signatures are required.
Currently, the total number of valid signatures is 409,474, well below the 584,124 signatures submitted by the campaign.
The court ruled Friday that the trial court must rule on the opponent’s claim of 38,000 duplicate signatures. Once a decision is made, it can be reviewed by the state Supreme Court.
“This decision should be made as quickly as possible to provide certainty to the parties and the public,” Judge Ann Timmer wrote in her ruling.
Three plaintiffs, April Smith, Nira Lee and Joshua Davidian, filed suit earlier this year claiming thousands of signatures were invalid and collected by unregulated distributors. They say about 38,000 duplicate signatures deemed valid were actually duplicates.
Opponents of the proposed vote described the court’s decision as progress, but also criticized Moskowitz.
“I am grateful for this considered decision by the Arizona Supreme Court,” said Scot Mussi, president of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. “At no point did the trial court judge or the committee supporting the initiative provide any evidence as to why these signatures were not duplicates, instead relying on an obstructionist strategy to serve out the time. The delay in this challenge would not have had to occur if the lower court had simply followed the Supreme Court’s earlier instruction to remove all duplicates from the count. With any ballot measure – but especially one that would fundamentally change our electoral system – the people of Arizona deserve full confidence that our courts will apply all laws fairly and equitably.”
On social media, the Arizona Republican Party called the ruling a “major victory for election integrity in Arizona.”
The next hearing is scheduled for September 3.
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