Sadie Shaw has filed a legal challenge to the results of the Democratic primary election against incumbent Kevin Dahl, arguing that a ballot mishap was a factor in her 19-vote loss.
In late July, the Pima County Recorder's Office said it sent nearly 1,300 Tucson voters a ballot for the wrong political party ahead of the Aug. 5 primary election. The office later said the ballot mistake affected 358 voters.
In the complaint filed in Pima County Superior Court Aug. 15, Shaw contends that the ballot mistake unfairly swung the race and "and deprived Ward 3 voters of the opportunity to exercise their fundamental right to vote."
The ballot mistake affected "at least 76 potential voters" in Tucson's Ward 3 and "affected the purity" of the result, Shaw's complaint says.
Ward 3's Democratic primary was the closest race among the primary races held earlier this month for three seats on the Tucson City Council.
Shaw, a Tucson Unified School District governing board member, lost by just 19 votes to Dahl, who is seeking his second term on the city council.
Dahl's slim margin of victory triggered an automatic recount. A court hearing, originally scheduled for Friday to release the recount results, has been vacated until Shaw's election challenge has been resolved, says Alanna Meadows of the Pima County Superior Court.
Shaw's lawyers say in the complaint that of the 76 voters who received the wrong ballot, "18 are registered Democrats and 58 are either registered Independents, not members of a political party, or are registered with a smaller, third party."
Arizona has an open primary provision, which means that independent voters are still eligible to vote in the primary elections so long as they specify "which ballot type they would like to vote," the Citizens Clean Elections Commission says.
The complaint says Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly and Tucson City Clerk Suzanne Mesich "sent at least 76 Ward 3 Democratic voters an incorrect ballot, or did not count Democratic votes due to the mistake."
"The County Recorder and City Clerk's failure to follow procedure and correctly administer the (Aug. 5) Democratic primary election disenfranchised the voters of Ward 3 and put the election results in doubt," the complaint says. It leaves "the result of the election uncertain," it continues.
In a statement Tuesday afternoon, the Pima County Recorder's Office said that it is "currently working to gather data to provide answers in court."
"Our office remains dedicated to transparency and to helping voters participate in the electoral process," the office said.
The "correct remedy is to set aside the (Aug. 5) election," the complaint says.
Lawyers for Shaw are also requesting that a temporary restraining order be issued to stop the printing of general election ballots until the challenge is resolved.
