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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Find everything you need to know about elections in Arizona and Maricopa County from KJZZ's politics team. -
A measure proposing major reforms to the Empowerment Scholarship Account program will no longer go to voters after missing the mark on signatures, according to a ruling from the Arizona Supreme Court. -
Arizonans will get a chance to decide on a package of proposed changes in election law on everything from who can spend money to influence races to a requirement that all voters — including those who cast ballots by mail — will have to provide identification. -
When Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs picked former Republican John Giles as her running mate last week, her campaign pitched the move as an olive branch to Arizona voters from across the political spectrum. -
There should be more clarity later this week on which ballot measures will actually end up on the Arizona ballot in November.
