An attorney for the Arizona Independent Party said he has served state officials with a notice of claim alleging signature requirements for politically independent candidates are illegal.
Attorney Anthony Ramirez says, in 2024, candidates without party affiliation had to gather about 43,000 signatures to get on the ballot for statewide office, while Republicans for example, only needed to gather 7,000
"Arizona imposes extreme signature requirements on independent candidates, six to eight times more than a major party candidate or a party candidate," Ramirez said.
The filing comes in the middle of a legal fight over the Arizona Independent Party’s name, as the Citizens Clean Election Commission claims it will confuse would-be voters who wish to register without any party affiliation.
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Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes says he will go to jail before he turns over voter data to the Department of Justice. And now, the DOJ is suing him for it. -
The Democratic National Committee has announced a seven-figure investment to register voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. -
President Donald Trump endorsed former Cardinals kicker Jay Feely for Congress on Tuesday, making him the second candidate Trump is supporting in the race. -
The Trump administration on Tuesday filed suit against Secretary of State Adrian Fontes for refusing to hand over voter registration and election records. -
Austin Smith, 30, pleaded guilty in mid-November to charges of attempted fraudulent schemes and practices, and illegal signing of election petitions. He had acknowledged trying to use petitions with forged signatures that he knew were false and forging a dead woman’s signature on a nominating petition.
