A judge ruled Wednesday that Secretary of State Adrian Fontes did not have the authority to let a political party change its name. The short-lived Arizona Independent Party will revert to its original title.
Last year, Fontes approved a request by leaders of what was called the No Labels Party to change its name.
Led by former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson, the party sought the change after severing its ties to the national No Labels Party which strove to support a third-party candidate for president in 2024.
But Democratic and Republican party officials, as well as the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, challenged Fontes’ authority to approve the change.
They argued the name “Independent” would confuse voters because the term has long been used in Arizona to describe voters with no party affiliation.
Unless Johnson files an appeal, candidates registered with his party will have to run under the No Labels banner in this year’s election.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Greg Como determined the name change could lead to "political bait and switch.” He decided if party officials want to operate under a new name they need to start from scratch and complete all the procedures necessary — including gathering sufficient signatures on petitions — to form a new party.
The judge said more than 41,000 people signed up to be members of the No Labels Party before party Chairman Paul Johnson sought and got permission from Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to change the name.
Only thing is, Como concluded, Fontes lacked the legal authority to do that. And the judge said there's a good reason for that.
Como said when Arizonans signed onto petitions to create a new political party, they were signing up for the No Labels Party, so renaming it without their consent is wrong.
"When a person signs a petition on behalf of an aspiring party, it is reasonable to infer that they are largely motivated by now the party describes itself, i.e., the party's name, the judge wrote. "Would the same 41,000 people who signed petitions to recognize the No Labels Party have signed to support the 'Arizona Nazi Party' or the 'Arizona Anarchists'?''
One issue stemming from Como’s decision is mismatched paperwork filed by candidates for the No Labels Party who already have submitted signatures on petitions to run for office this year as candidates of the Arizona Independent Party.
"Unfortunately, due to the court order, this question is unaddressed,'' said Calli Jones, a spokesman for Fontes. She said that may have to be decided through future litigation — or even challenges to the candidacies by other political parties.
Johnson said his group is in discussions now about whether they should appeal the case. He said he believes he’ll have a better chance in a federal court.
Johnson said despite Wednesday’s ruling, he was glad Fontes and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes weighed in on his side, even though they’re both Democrats and his party aims to challenge theirs. He acknowledged they did it for legal reasons.
“There’s a great reason for both of them to be opposed to what we’re doing because theoretically they could get an opponent that would be an independent, and both of them stepped up and defended our right to our name,” Johnson said.
“I’m sure that why they did it because it was the right position,” he said.
Overall, Johnson said he was encouraged by the court process and knows his party will soldier on regardless of its name.
“I mean the worst that happens here is that every single one of our candidates are still going to call themselves independent and we go back to calling ourselves the No Labels Party,” he said.
