Arizona election officials have completed an initial step in determining whether a referendum submitted by opponents of a recently approved election law will be on the ballot next year.
Opponents of the law, which would trim the state’s permanent voting list and limit who can return mail-in ballots for a voter, have filed what they say are more than 146,000 petition signatures in an effort to force a statewide vote.
Secretary of State's Office spokesman Matt Roberts says samples from just over 139,000 signatures are being sent to counties for checks. That's after the state tossed hundreds of petitions sheets and individual signatures for technical reasons.
According to the Arizona Capitol Times, 62 percent of the remaining signatures must be found to be valid for the referendum to qualify for the ballot.
If they are determined to be valid, Arizonans will decide the referendum’s fate next November.