Grand Canyon Times

The Voter Reference Foundation (VRF) recently announced that the ‘Free & Fair Elections’ initiative, Arizona's version of H.R. 1, has failed to make the ballot after a rush of activity in the state's Superior and State Supreme Court-- a victory for Republicans and those who advocate for voter integrity. VRF says that anticipation was high for Election Integrity advocates, citizens of Arizona, and court watchers on both sides as a series of rulings played out.

According to a press release by the VRF, on Aug. 24, Arizona's State Supreme Court upheld several challenges and rejected others made by both supporting and opposing sides to the election initiative. Both the number of signatures that qualified and the overall validation rate were at issue. After the State Supreme Court ruling Wednesday evening, opponents of the measure rejoiced as it appeared that the measure would fall beneath the minimum required signatures to be certified to the ballot. The Supreme Court then remanded back to the Superior Court for resolution.

"Never give up. This initiative was well-funded ($7M at last count) and it was not so much a hill as a mountain to climb to challenge this filing. A small group of determined advocates were able to win by 1500 signatures on an initiative that collected over 400,000. Well done AZ Free Enterprise! A great day for Election Integrity in Arizona!" Voter Reference Foundation said in the press release.

Arizona's Free and Fair Elections Initiative sought to make major changes to Arizona’s election and campaign finance laws, striking down several Republican-backed election laws and practices that critics say have led to voter disenfranchisement, according to AZMirror.

In an apparent reversal of fortune, the Superior Court judge allowed advocates of the measure to offer a calculation for the validity rate that fell outside A.R.S. 19-121.04 which lays out the order and method for calculating the threshold for certification to the ballot.

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club and their attorney refused to give up, as they filed an emergency appeal with the State Supreme Court. The Court ordered the lower court judge to provide the specific source and breakdown of his numerical findings.

The Supreme Court ordered the Superior Court to issue a ruling by Aug. 26, 11:00 AM and made provisions for supplemental briefings to the Supreme Court by 1:00 PM that day. The ruling from the Supreme Court said that when the proper formula and calculations were made, the initiative failed to meet certification by 1500 signatures.