ARIZONA NEWS

Ballot measure to change Arizona primary election system survives lengthy legal challenge

Oct 4, 2024, 1:39 PM

Prop 140 survived a legal battle that ended at the Arizona Supreme Court....

Prop 140 survived a legal battle that ended at the Arizona Supreme Court. (Getty Images File Photo)

(Getty Images File Photo)

PHOENIX — A ballot measure about overhauling Arizona’s primary election system survived a monthslong legal battle that ended at the state Supreme Court on Friday.

As a result, voters will have their say on Proposition 140, aka the Make Elections Fair Act, in November despite evidence indicating that thousands of signatures collected to get the measure on the ballot were duplicates.

The Arizona Supreme Court upheld a Maricopa County Superior Court decision that said the issue was moot once the state’s Aug. 23 deadline for printing ballots passed.

Scot Mussi, president of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AFEC), which spearheaded the legal effort to keep Prop 140 off the ballot, said he was disappointed in the ruling.

The group had argued that if the duplicate signatures confirmed by a special master had not been counted, the voter initiative wouldn’t have qualified for the ballot.

“The committee behind the measure was aware of the duplicates, yet they obstructed and delayed the review of the duplicate signatures for over a month,” Mussi said in a press release.

However, the Make Elections Fair Committee says the AFEC is the side that used “misleading tactics.”

“Our opponents engaged in blatant attempts to manipulate the system, undermining the democratic process with misleading tactics. This deliberate misconduct was rightfully rejected by the courts, ensuring that Arizona voters were not disenfranchised,” Chuck Coughlin, the campaign’s treasurer, said in a press release.

Signature issue wasn’t only challenge to Prop 140

The AFEC actually challenged the Make Elections Fair Act on two grounds, constitutionality and signature validity.

The constitutional issue was settled in August, but the signature challenge stayed alive until less than a week before the start of early voting on Wednesday.

Even though ballots have been printed, the plaintiffs were holding out hope that the court would rule that the votes cast for Prop 140 should not be counted.

How would Prop 140 change Arizona primary system?

If approved by voters on Nov. 5, Prop 140 would amend the state Constitution to eliminate party primaries and replace them with single, open primaries for each office.

With open primaries, the top vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of their party affiliation. The proposed amendment leaves it to lawmakers to determine how many nominees advance and how general elections are conducted.

For example, if it is determined that two candidates should advance and the top two vote-getters in a primary race are from the same party, the other parties wouldn’t have candidates on the ballot for that race in the general election.

If the measure passes and the Legislature doesn’t enact a law regarding how many nominees advance by Nov. 1, 2025, the secretary of state will decide the number.

Another provision of the measure is that if three or more candidates advance, then the general election winner will be determined through a ranked choice voting system.

Details about all 13 of Arizona’s ballot measures can be found in the general election publicity pamphlet produced by the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.

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Ballot measure to change Arizona primary election system survives lengthy legal challenge