{"id":2074754,"date":"2023-10-21T03:13:11","date_gmt":"2023-10-21T07:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-labels-party-sues-arizona-over-ballot-line\/"},"modified":"2023-10-21T03:18:27","modified_gmt":"2023-10-21T07:18:27","slug":"no-labels-party-sues-arizona-over-ballot-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-labels-party-sues-arizona-over-ballot-line\/","title":{"rendered":"No Labels Party takes legal action against Arizona for ballot line."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fno-labels-party-sues-arizona-over-ballot-line%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2074754&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>The bipartisan No Labels Party has filed a lawsuit to bar Arizona Secretary of \u200cState\u2062 Adrian Fontes from letting candidates run for office under the third-party\u200d group\u2019s banner.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint, filed on Friday in U.S. District Court\u2062 in \u200bPhoenix, \u2062alleges \u2064that Mr. \u200dFontes, a Democrat, has forced the party to offer its ballot line to candidates \u2062in races where it has expressly declined\u200d to compete, \u200ba\u200b move they say violates their constitutional rights.<\/p>\n<p>The No Labels Party, which leans centrist, has for the last two years pushed to secure ballot access in various states across the nation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\"><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\" id=\"in_article_related_stories\">\n<h2 class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/h2>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-4 sm:line-clamp-3\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/arizona-republican-lawmakers-demand-county-investigate-illegal-donation-of-firearms-to-ukraine-5514173?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"text-sm sm:text-base\">Arizona Republican Lawmakers\u200d Demand County Investigate Illegal Donation of Firearms to Ukraine<\/h3>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">10\/20\/2023<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[70px] sm:basis-[120px]\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/arizona-republican-lawmakers-demand-county-investigate-illegal-donation-of-firearms-to-ukraine-5514173?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\">\n<picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" https:><\/source><source type=\"image\/*\" https:><\/source>\n<\/picture>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-4 sm:line-clamp-3\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/sports\/schwarber-homers-twice-turner-goes-deep-phillies-power-past-arizona-10-0-in-game-2-of-nlcs-5512316?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"text-sm sm:text-base\">Schwarber Homers\u2062 Twice, Turner Goes Deep,\u200b Phillies Power Past Arizona 10\u20130 in Game \u20622 \u2062of NLCS<\/h3>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">10\/18\/2023<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[70px] sm:basis-[120px]\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/sports\/schwarber-homers-twice-turner-goes-deep-phillies-power-past-arizona-10-0-in-game-2-of-nlcs-5512316?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\">\n<picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" https:><\/source><source type=\"image\/*\" https:><\/source>\n<\/picture>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><\/div>\n<p>The party has said that it will run a bipartisan \u201cunity\u2062 ticket\u201d for president \u201cif the two\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-labels-party-sues-arizona-over-ballot-line\/\" title=\"No Labels Party takes legal action against Arizona for ballot line.\">parties select unreasonably divisive presidential nominees<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arizona is among 11 states the group\u200c has\u200b secured access for a possible presidential \u2064candidate in the upcoming 2024 election.<\/p>\n<p>The stakes are particularly high in Arizona, which President Joe Biden\u200d won\u2063 by fewer than 11,000 votes in 2020, less than \u2063half a percentage\u200d point. President Biden won two other states by less than one percentage point.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>A \u200bDemocrat think tank has \u200dstated that No \u2064Labels \u2062has mostly targeted states that voted for President Biden in 2020.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-sans text-[24px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[28px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Democrats Fear \u2063No Label Spoiler\u200c Candidate<\/h2>\n<p>Fears have risen amongst President Biden&#8217;s supporters that a No Labels ticket in\u2064 Arizona could be\u200d a spoiler to his reflection because of his\u200c narrow victory in 2020.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe law is clearly on the \u2064side \u200bof No \u200cLabels,\u201d said Benjamin Chavis Jr., \u2062a \u200bformer head of the NAACP and the national\u2063 co-chair of No Labels. \u201cSo the question is, \u2018Why is the \u200dsecretary of state \u200bacting the way he\u2019s acting?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has nothing to do with\u2062 the law, it has more to do with \u200cpolitics,\u201d Mr. Chavis said.<\/p>\n<p>Larry Hogan,\u2062 the former Republican governor of Maryland, who also serves as a national co-chair for the No Labels Party, said \u2062the party isn&#8217;t &#8220;trying to spoil \u2064anything.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is about \u2064actually receiving a majority \u200dof the votes,\u201d said Mr. Hogan, \u200bwho is weighing a presidential bid under the third-party label.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>\u201cI think we should only put together a ticket in the \u200cevent that it\u2019s\u200b Trump and Biden,\u201d \u2062he added. \u201cAnd\u2063 I\u2019m still, again, still trying to \u2062work to make sure we can get a good Republican nominee.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-sans text-[24px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[28px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Party Alleges \u200dViolation of Constitutional Rights<\/h2>\n<p>In August, tensions \u200brose when\u2062 Mr. Fontes&#8217; office \u2064attempted to compel the No Labels party of Arizona to nominate\u200d candidates in races even if party leaders didn&#8217;t want them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe Arizona Secretary \u2063of State disagrees with your assertion that a newly recognized political \u2064party can choose to deprive its own \u2062voters of \u2063their constitutionally protected freedom \u2063of association,\u201d State Elections Director Colleen\u2064 Connor\u200c wrote in a \u2064Sept. 22 letter.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2064No Labels group&#8217;s complaint asserts that these \u200cactions contravene\u200c both Arizona \u2064state law and the fundamental rights of freedom of association protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>Under Arizona law, political parties are granted the authority to decide whether they will nominate candidates for specific political offices.<\/p>\n<p>The No Labels Party of Arizona alleges that Mr. Fontes is infringing upon their rights by forcing the party to engage in elections for\u2063 the Arizona corporation commissioner and U.S. senator positions.<\/p>\n<p>In accordance with the law, if a party opts not to partake in a particular\u200c race, they are not obligated to\u2062 nominate or acknowledge candidates seeking to run under \u2064their party&#8217;s banner.<\/p>\n<p>Citing a 2000 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that &#8220;a corollary of the right to associate is the right to\u2064 not associate,&#8221; the No Labels\u200b Party of Arizona contends that\u200d the\u2062 state has\u200c unconstitutionally imposed its judgment on the party and unlawfully interfered with their strategic decisions.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint was filed in order to safeguard their \u2062rights and protect the integrity of\u2063 the democratic process.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our lawsuit in Arizona underscores the\u200b importance of respecting the autonomy and freedom of association of political parties, rights\u2064 that are essential elements of the American democratic process,&#8221; said No Labels Director of Ballot Integrity Jay Nixon, who formerly served as governor and attorney general of Missouri.<\/p>\n<p>Benjamin Chavis,\u2062 national co-chair \u200cof No Labels, emphasized the lawsuit&#8217;s \u200bsignificance for the right to freedom of association.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Political parties should have the liberty to define \u2064their goals and focus without external imposition,&#8221; he said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint seeks a declaration that Mr. Fontes violated\u2062 Arizona law and \u200cthe First and Fourteenth Amendments.<\/p>\n<p>It \u200calso requests both preliminary\u2063 and\u2062 permanent injunctions to \u2062prevent any further infringement\u200d on the\u2063 rights of the No \u200bLabels Party\u2064 of Arizona, as well as the award of attorneys&#8217; fees and litigation costs, retention of jurisdiction, and \u2062any other necessary relief.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We \u2064firmly believe in protecting the fundamental rights of political\u200d parties and their ability to define their mission\u200d and objectives. The No Labels Party of Arizona has a specific purpose, and we are committed to defending its rights under the law,&#8221; \u2064declared Gail\u200c Koshland, Chair\u2063 of the No Labels\u2063 Party of Arizona.<\/p>\n<p>No Labels \u200bqualified as \u200ca political party for the ballot\u200b in Arizona in 2024 in March.<\/p>\n<p>The No Labels party bills itself as an alternative to the status quo and\u2062 is made up of Democrats, Republicans, and independents, describing itself as &#8220;different&#8221; from other parties, claiming to be &#8220;intellectually open&#8221; about solutions and\u2063 &#8220;spry and indefatigable.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We want to hear peoples\u2019 ideas, particularly from those who feel iced out from the loudest and\u2062 angriest voices \u2062in the Democratic and Republican parties,&#8221; the group\u200c writes on its official website.<\/p>\n<p>In August, an Arizona judge rejected a lawsuit brought \u2064by \u2063Democrats targeting the recently created No Labels\u200b party, which many Democrats fear will\u200c boost former\u2062 President Donald \u200dTrump\u2019s \u200bbid to return to the \u200bWhite House.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<em>The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> Why is the No Labels Party&#8217;s ability to field \u2062a candidate\u200b in Arizona \u2062significant,\u2064 considering the\u2063 state&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/will-alexander-squishy-republicans-want-trump-to-go-away\/\" title=\"Will Alexander: Squishy Republicans Want Trump to Go Away\">recent political history<\/a>?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  T. The No Labels Party aims to present a moderate \u2063alternative to the polarizing candidates\u2063 from\u200d the two major parties and believes \u2064that denying\u200c their\u200d candidates the opportunity to run\u2062 under their banner infringes upon their constitutional rights.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit\u200d filed\u200b against Arizona Secretary of State Adrian \u2064Fontes alleges that he \u2064has compelled \u200cthe \u200bNo Labels Party to\u200d offer its ballot line \u200bto candidates in races where it has explicitly\u200d opted \u200dnot to\u200b compete. This action, \u200baccording to the \u2063party, violates their freedom of association and \u200dexpression as guaranteed by the Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>The No Labels Party identifies as a centrist party that seeks\u2062 to\u200c bridge the partisan divide and foster bipartisan cooperation. Over the past two years, \u2062the party has been working diligently to secure ballot access in \u2064various states across the \u2062nation. Arizona is one\u2064 of \u2062the 11 states where they have successfully obtained access for\u2063 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-matt-gaetz-suggests-potential-desantis-2024-presidential-run\/\" title=\"Rep. Matt Gaetz Suggests Potential DeSantis 2024 Presidential Run\">potential presidential candidate<\/a> in \u2063the upcoming 2024 election.<\/p>\n<p>The significance of this legal battle is heightened in Arizona due to the state&#8217;s recent\u200d political \u2064history. In the \u200c2020 presidential election,\u2064 the state played a crucial role, with President Joe Biden emerging as the \u2062victor by a margin \u200dof \u200cfewer than\u200b 11,000 votes, representing less than\u2064 half a percentage point. The No Labels Party&#8217;s ability \u200bto field a candidate in\u200d Arizona could potentially impact\u200d the\u200c outcome of\u200d future elections, making this lawsuit all the\u200c more contentious.<\/p>\n<p>The party&#8217;s commitment\u200c to bipartisan unity is evident in its pledge to run a bipartisan \u2063&#8221;unity\u2063 ticket&#8221; \u200bfor the\u2063 presidency if the Democratic and Republican parties select presidential nominees who are deemed unreasonably divisive by the No Labels Party. This approach seeks to offer voters a viable alternative that\u2062 promotes cooperation and moderation \u2064in \u2063the highest office of the\u200b land.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit brought forth by \u200dthe No Labels \u200dParty challenges the actions \u2063of Secretary of State Adrian Fontes on constitutional grounds. \u2063By denying the party the right \u2063to\u2063 determine\u2063 when and where to field\u200d candidates, Fontes is accused of impeding their right \u200bto political participation and stunting the\u2062 growth of an alternative political \u200cforce striving for \u200dmoderation and compromise.<\/p>\n<p>As the legal battle unfolds, the outcome \u2063will have far-reaching implications for the No Labels \u2062Party and\u200c their ability to\u200d present their candidates to the public. It will also highlight\u200c the broader issue of third-party access and the \u200bchallenges \u200bfaced by those \u2062seeking to break the \u200btwo-party dominance in American\u2064 politics.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately,\u2063 the \u200blawsuit\u2064 against Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes serves as a\u200c reminder \u2062of the ongoing struggles faced by third-party movements in America. The No Labels Party&#8217;s fight for ballot access and their commitment to bipartisanship sheds light on the\u200d need for alternative\u200b political avenues in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nancy-mace-blasted-by-fellow-republican-for-causing-this-mess-amid-house-chaos\/\" title=\"Nancy Mace criticized by GOP colleague over House turmoil.\">increasingly polarized climate<\/a>. The outcome of this case will undoubtedly \u2063shape the \u200cfuture landscape of American \u200bpolitics, \u2062underscoring the importance \u200bof \u200cupholding constitutional rights\u2062 and fostering a healthy and inclusive democratic process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The No Labels Party has sued Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, accusing him of compelling the party to provide its ballot line to candidates. The bipartisan group filed the complaint in a Phoenix court, seeking to prevent Fontes, a Democrat, from allowing candidates to run under their party&#8217;s banner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":618,"featured_media":2074755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2074754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2074754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/618"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2074754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2074754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2074755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2074754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2074754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2074754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}