Adrian Fontes says renaming the No Labels Party will have ‘zero impact’ on most independent voters

PHOENIX — Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is defending his decision to approve renaming the No Labels Party as the Arizona Independent Party, even as a lawsuit claims he overstepped his legal authority and could confuse voters.

Fontes formally approved the renaming of the No Labels Party to the Arizona Independent Party in October, and the change went into effect on Monday.

The Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission (ACCEC), a nonprofit organization of voters, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, arguing that state law allows the secretary of state to recognize new parties but not rename existing ones.

“I’m looking to the law, and I’m looking to this group of people who have freely assembled, and they want to change the name of their party, and they said, ‘We’ve followed all of our rules. We want you to recognize this officially.’ So I said, ‘Okay,'” Fontes told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos on Thursday.

ACCEC condemns Adrian Fontes for approving No Labels Party name change

ACCEC Executive Director Thomas Collins told KTAR News that Fontes’ decision will have massive consequences.

“The decision effectively redefines the term ‘independent’ in Arizona election law,” Collins said in a statement shared with KTAR News 92.3 FM.

“For decades, Arizona statutes, courts and the Clean Elections Act have used ‘independent’ to mean voters and candidates with no party. Calling a recognized party the ‘Arizona Independent Party’ nullifies that terminology and overrides the Commission’s ability to use it in voter education and funding rules.”

However, Fontes said that he approved the change because, in Arizona, the secretary of state lacks legal authority to regulate certain aspects of elections — particularly those tied to freedom of speech and freedom of association.

“There’s no statute — there’s no rules in the political procedures — look, there are people who sign up for the Pirate Party. There are people who sign up for the Santa Claus Party,” Fontes said.

Here is a copy of the complaint filed Tuesday:

CV2025-064149: Complaint Filed 12/2/2025 by sosullivan

ACCEC is asking the court to void the name change and stop its rollout, adding that the decision to rename the No Labels Party will require the nonprofit to spend its limited funds on updating its guides, videos, tools and outreach efforts to accommodate the name change.

Fontes: Arizona Independent Party change has ‘zero impact’ on unaffiliated voters

Fontes and Collins both agree that changing the name of the No Labels Party to the Arizona Independent Party will cause confusion, but they strongly disagree about the degree of fallout it will have.

“Thousands of voters are put at risk,” Collins said. “More than 42,000 Arizonans will have their registration effectively changed into a party many never knowingly chose, with no notice and no opt-out up front. Some true independents will lose their ability to choose a primary ballot and will only learn it when they’re turned away from the ballot they expected.”

Fontes disagreed, noting a key distinction: an affiliated independent — someone registered with a party like the Arizona Independent Party — is different from an unaffiliated independent, a voter who hasn’t joined any party at all.

“If you are a ‘Party not designated,’ this has zero impact on you,” Fontes said. “There are a million and a half people out there who do not want to be affiliated with a party. What this name change has done has zero effect on you … if you want to remain little ‘I’ independent, unaffiliated with a political party.”

It only really affects people who were previously members of the No Labels Party, he added.

“Now, if you are one of the 42,000 former No Labels Party members, your party changed its name. This is not complicated,” Fontes said. “Is it going to start raining cats and dogs because of this? I don’t think so.”

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