PHOENIX — Legislative Democrats and Republicans found something to agree on: They don't want an "independent party'' on the ballot.
Without dissent, the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Elections approved a measure Friday to legally preclude any political party from using the word "independent'' as part of its name. Also off limits under Senate Bill 1609 would be words like "unaffiliated,'' "party not designated,'' "no party,'' "no preference'' or "decline to state.''
The measure is set up so that if it gets through the legislative process and is signed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, it would be retroactive to Dec. 31, 2024.
That's deliberate: It's designed to overturn the decision by Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, to allow what had been the No Labels Party to rebrand itself as the Arizona Independent Party and have candidates running under that banner in this year's election. Fontes said he had no choice, saying there is nothing in state law that precludes a party from renaming itself, nor bars it from using any specific words in its title.
SB 1609 would overturn that.
The measure drew sharp criticism from Anthony Ramirez, attorney for the Arizona Independent Party.
He told lawmakers that the party and its officials relied on the fact — the same one cited by Fontes — that there is no prohibition against the name change. Ramirez said it is only now, when the party is hoping to put candidates on the November ballot — where they would face off against the nominees of the two major parties — that there is new interest in changing the rules and doing it in a way to affect this year's election.
"This is about cartel protection,'' he said, defining that as "when those in power use the laws to shield themselves from lawful competition instead of competing for voters.'' He pointed out that every Arizona state legislator is either a Democrat or a Republican.
"Both parties benefit from the current structure,'' Ramirez said. "Both face risk when unaffiliated voters organize under a recognizable banner.''
What the new name does, he said, is provide independents "meaningful identity on the ballot.''
That is what's behind the whole name change.
Sen. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge
True unaffiliated candidates can get their names on the ballot now. But they have to gather at least 44,539 signatures on petitions.
The threshold is lower for organized parties. Paul Johnson, who chairs the Arizona Independent Party, acknowledged that one reason for having a party of that name was to allow independents to join — and qualify for the ballot with just 1,771 signatures.
Coolidge Republican Sen. T.J. Shope, who wrote SB 1609, said it simply aims to eliminate voter confusion. He said it's no different than other laws that prohibit candidates from putting nicknames or other misleading information on the ballot.
He also pointed out that the party in question did exist before — as No Labels. The name change is designed to "confuse voters," Shope said.
Key, he said, is the history of how people sign up to vote.
The voter registration forms have boxes for people to check if they want to affiliate with a recognized party. Leaving it blank, he said, automatically puts the person into the category of "party not designated.''
But Shope said there is evidence that people will use a blank underlined space on the form to write out the word "independent." He said he believes that's a signal that, like those who leave the party designation blank, the voter doesn't want to be affiliated with any party.
"Now we have an entity that is most definitely a political party attempting to co-opt the name 'independent,' '' he said. "I frankly don't care what political parties call themselves. But I don't believe we ought to be confusing people.''
Pinal County Recorder Dana Lewis said confusion can result in real-world problems.
For example, under Arizona law, anyone who is a true independent can request to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary. But that ability to get a Republican or Democratic ballot does not exist if the person ends up being signed up as a member of the Arizona Independent Party.
The committee approval Friday sends the measure to the full Senate.
This isn't the only effort to legally quash the name "Arizona Independent Party.'' There are also three separate lawsuits.
The challengers — the Citizens Clean Elections Commission and the Democratic and Republican parties — want Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Greg Como to declare Fontes acted illegally in allowing the name change. A hearing is set for March 18.
