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1.
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A voter signed his name in the 'print name' box and printed his name in the signature box.
Is this a valid signature?
Answer:
Yes. As long as the signature appears on the same line as the printed name and matches
the voter's signature on file with the Recorder's Office, it is a valid signature.
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2.
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A voter signed a nomination petition and dated it 'February 10' but did not include the year.
Is this signature valid?
Answer:
No. Arizona law requires a full date including month, day and year before any Petition signature
can be considered valid. Please note, under Arizona law, the voter only has to sign the petition.
The circulator may complete all of the other information required on the petition. If the voter
leaves the information incomplete, the circulator may complete it. However, only the circulator
may complete missing information. Unless the circulator adds the year to this voter's signature
line, this signature will not count.
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3.
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Husband and wife voters have signed the nomination petition, one after each other. Only the wife
listed her address and date of signing. The husband used ditto marks. Is the husband's signature
valid?
Answer:
If the husband is a registered voter and the address listed is in the correct district, the signature
is valid. The use of ditto marks for any information except the signature is valid under Arizona law.
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4.
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A husband and wife each sign their name on the same line. Neither prints their name,
but they are registered at the same address listed on the form. Are these signatures valid?
Answer:
Yes. The issue is whether the signatures can be identified without the printed names.
If the signatures match the voter registration signatures, both will be valid as long as there
are not more than 13 other signatures on the same petition page. Under Arizona law, petitions
may only contain 15 signatures per page.
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5.
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A voter signed their name to the nomination petition and then drew a line through their name.
Is this signature valid?
Answer:
No. Under Arizona law, a voter may withdraw their name from any petition by drawing a line through
their name on the petition page prior to the filing of the petition. If a petition contains a
signature with a line drawn through it at the time it is filed, both the Division of Elections and
the Secretary of State's office presume that the voter has withdrawn their signature and it will not
be counted toward qualification for the ballot.
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6.
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The candidate is running for nomination as a member of the Democratic Party. A voter registered
as a member of the Whig party signs their nomination petition. Is this signature valid?
Answer:
Yes. Arizona law was changed in 2001. Any registered voter may sign a candidate nomination
petition if they are registered in either the candidate's political party or as an "independent"
voter or as a member of any unrecognized political party." Of course, the voter's residence must be within the
legislative/election district. For legislative candidates, the recognized political parties are
Democratic, Republican, Libertarian. For county candidates, the recognized parties are
Democratic, Republican, Libertarian and Green. In 2002 the Court ruled that voters registered as
members of the Green Party were not 'independent' voters for state office in Pima County. Since
the Green Party is recognized at the county level, but not at the state level, they cannot participate
in state office elections. Therefore, signatures of Green Party voters on legislative nomination
petitions are not valid if the voter lives in Pima County. If the voter lives in any other county
with the same legislative district, the signature would be valid.
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7.
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A voter printed his name twice on the nomination petition. The address matches his address for
voter registration purposes. Is this a valid signature?
Answer:
If the voter printed their 'signature' on their voter registration form, and the printing matches
the voter registration form, the signature will be valid. If the voter signed their voter
registration form then the signature will be rejected since it does not match the signature on file.
Comparisons cannot be done between cursive and printed letters.
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8.
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A candidate is planning to challenge his opponent's nomination petitions. The candidate wants the
Recorder's Office to check all signatures on the petitions to determine if there are sufficient valid
signatures to qualify for the ballot. The candidate files a lawsuit in Superior Court challenging
every signature on the petition and asks the court to order the Recorder to check each signature to
determine if they are valid. Will the candidate be successful with their challenge?
Answer:
Not a chance. State statute requires the lawsuit to list each signature being challenged and the
basis for challenging each signature. The failure to comply with that requirement is jurisdictional.
In other words, if the grounds for challenging each signature are not specifically listed, the court
has no authority to consider the challenge.
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9.
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A registered voter has signed the nomination petitions for both Republican candidates for Arizona
House of Representatives in legislative district J. Is either of these signatures valid?
Answer:
Since both seats in the House of Representatives for each legislative district are up for election
every two years, a voter may sign the nomination petition for both candidates. A voter may only
sign nomination petitions for the same number of votes they cast at the election. So if three House
candidates are running, the voter may only sign two nomination petitions. If only one seat is up for
election, a voter may only sign one petition. If the voter signs too many petitions, it is the
earliest petition signed that counts as valid.
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WEB SITES:
Secretary of State
http://www.azsos.gov
Clean Election Commission
http://www.ccec.state.az.us
Arizona Redistricting Commission
http://www.azredistricting.org
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