Democrats got write-in candidate onto Arizona primary election ballot. Lawsuit argues GOP should too
It worked for the Democrats, so Republicans should also get to put their write-in candidate on the July 30 primary election ballot, the Maricopa County Republican Party argues in a lawsuit.
But Democrats got their candidate's name on the ballot just ahead of a May 13 deadline set by the county. Republican efforts to do the same missed it by three days.
The county party alleges the GOP-controlled Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, which oversees elections, as well as Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican who is on the ballot this year, treated Republicans in the northwest Valley's Legislative District 29 unfairly by declining to print candidate James Taylor's name on the ballot.
The county is not commenting on the suit. But in a legal filing to the Arizona Supreme Court last month, it stated all candidate names must be submitted to the county by May 13 "in order to meet the relevant deadlines for printing ballots."
The Arizona Secretary of State's Office rejected Taylor as a candidate, citing the May 13 deadline set by the county.
Taylor filed as a write-in candidate in April, after state Rep. Austin Smith, R-Wittmann, dropped his bid for reelection to the Arizona House of Representatives due to allegations of forgery and petition fraud. That left the Republicans in LD29 with only one Republican candidate for two seats in the House of Representatives.
At the time, the party thought the only option to get someone to take Smith's place was to run a write-in campaign.
But after Democrats in the Tempe-based Legislative District 8 on May 11 formally nominated one of their write-in hopefuls as a duly qualified candidate, guaranteeing she would have her name printed on the ballot, the GOP across town sought to replicate the process.
Write-in candidates do not have their names on the ballot, which puts them at a big disadvantage for visibility. A notice of their candidacy is posted at polling locations and on the county's election website, but voters must make the extra effort to write in the candidate's name.
The lawsuit argues the ballot has not yet been printed, so there is time to include Taylor.
It cites the Arizona Constitution's "free and equal clause" in arguing that Taylor is entitled to the same treatment as Democrat Lauren Kuby received in LD8. Kuby will be on the ballot as the Democrats' candidate for a state Senate seat.
Another constitutional provision also comes into play, attorney Alexander Kolodin argues in the lawsuit. Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, is also a member of the state House of Representatives
"By allowing the selected candidate of the LD8 Dems to appear on the ballot, but not that of the LD29 Republicans, defendants have violated the Privileges or Immunities clause," Kolodin wrote.
He is asking Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joan Sinclair to order the county to print Taylor's name on the ballot and to find the county's decision to exclude him illegal.
An order to show cause hearing is set for May 28.
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Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @maryjpitzl.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona primary election: County GOP sues to get candidate on ballot
