{"id":2343247,"date":"2024-09-19T08:00:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T12:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/99-of-paired-signatures-for-arizona-rcv-initiative-are-duplicates\/"},"modified":"2024-09-19T08:02:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T12:02:53","slug":"99-of-paired-signatures-for-arizona-rcv-initiative-are-duplicates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/99-of-paired-signatures-for-arizona-rcv-initiative-are-duplicates\/","title":{"rendered":"99% Of Paired Signatures For Arizona RCV Initiative Are Duplicates"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/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%2F99-of-paired-signatures-for-arizona-rcv-initiative-are-duplicates%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=2343247&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--><p>A recent report from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-winning-redistricting-war-gop-poised-for-even-bigger-wins-in-november\/\" title=\"After Winning Redistricting War, GOP Poised for Even Bigger Wins in November\">court-appointed special master<\/a> has revealed that approximately 99 percent of the\u200d signatures collected for a pro-<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/andrew-yang-has-commanding-lead-in-nyc-mayoral-race-poll-shows\/\" title=\"Andrew Yang Has Commanding Lead In NYC Mayoral Race, Poll Shows\">ranked-choice voting<\/a> initiative in Arizona, known as\u200b Proposition 140, are duplicates. Judge Christopher Skelly found that 37,657 pairs of signatures were duplicates, potentially disqualifying the measure from the November ballot as \u2064it fails to meet the necessary signature \u200cthreshold. Proposition 140 aims to amend the Arizona Constitution by introducing an open primary system and potentially ranked-choice voting (RCV)\u200c for general elections.<\/p>\n<p>RCV allows voters to rank candidates by preference. If no candidate receives over 50 percent of first-choice votes, the \u200dcandidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are reallocated based on\u200c second-choice \u200bpreferences, continuing \u200duntil a candidate \u200csecures a majority.<\/p>\n<p>The Arizona Supreme Court has permitted challenges to the signatures to proceed, with a decision expected soon. Meanwhile, proponents of Prop 140 are pushing to \u2063ensure \u2063votes for the initiative are counted regardless \u200cof the signature issue. Polling suggests that as \u200bvoters learn more about the implications of Prop 140, support for it is declining. the situation surrounding Proposition 140 has sparked significant legal and political debate in Arizona.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A court-appointed special master report revealed on Tuesday that roughly 99 percent of challenged signatures collected for a pro-ranked-choice voting Arizona ballot measure are duplicates.<\/p>\n<p>In his <a href=\"https:\/\/azfree.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Smith-v.-Fontes-Special-Masters-Report-99-percent-duplicates.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a>, court-ordered Special Master and retired Arizona Superior Court Judge Christopher Skelly disclosed that 37,657 pairs of signatures gathered in support of Proposition 140 are, in fact, duplicates. As <a href=\"https:\/\/azfree.org\/blog\/2024\/09\/17\/prop-140-special-master-concludes-99-of-challenged-signatures-are-duplicates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">argued<\/a> by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AZFEC), this discovery &ldquo;now place[s] Proposition 140 thousands of signatures under the constitutionally required signature threshold to qualify for the [November] ballot.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Arizona_Proposition_140,_Single_Primary_for_All_Candidates_and_Possible_RCV_General_Election_Initiative_(2024)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Proposition 140<\/a> would amend the Arizona Constitution by instituting an open primary system in which candidates of all parties run in the same primary. It also paves the way for the state to potentially adopt ranked-choice voting (RCV) for general elections. <\/p>\n<p>Under an&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ranked-choice-voting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">RCV system<\/a>, voters are asked to rank candidates of all parties in order of preference. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of first-choice votes in the first round of voting, the last-place finisher is eliminated, and his votes are reallocated to the voter&rsquo;s second-choice candidate. This process continues until one candidate receives a majority of votes.<\/p>\n<p>As described by <a href=\"https:\/\/azfreenews.com\/2024\/09\/special-master-finds-99-of-challenged-signatures-for-prop-140-are-duplicates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AZ Free News<\/a>, Skelly&rsquo;s report noted how &ldquo;hundreds of the alleged duplicates were overruled and removed from consideration and 3,333 were removed from consideration by agreement of attorneys on both sides,&rdquo; and that &ldquo;[w]hile the signatures were classed into &lsquo;exact matches&rsquo; and &lsquo;near matches,&rsquo; Skelly [wrote] that he was instructed to &lsquo;not read anything into those descriptions and &hellip; did not.&#8217;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Plaintiffs had proved by clear and convincing evidence that 37,657 signatures were duplicates &mdash; that the same person had signed more than once,&rdquo; Skelly concluded. <\/p>\n<p>The former judge was appointed to investigate the validity of Proposition 140 signatures by the Maricopa County Superior Court.<\/p>\n<p>On Aug. 23, the Arizona Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/azfreenews.com\/2024\/08\/arizona-supreme-court-rules-signature-challenge-against-prop-140-can-continue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">allowed<\/a> the signature challenge to Proposition 140 to move forward and <a href=\"https:\/\/azfree.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Order-5242401-Duplicate-Order.pdf\">said<\/a> that if it&rsquo;s determined there are enough invalid signatures to disqualify the initiative from appearing on the November ballot, it &ldquo;should issue an injunction precluding any votes for the measure from being counted,&rdquo; as the state already started printing ballots. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-other-judicial-outrage-must-we-endure-dems-call-for-expanding-scotus-after-string-of-losses\/\" title=\"\u2018What Other Judicial Outrage Must We Endure?\u2019: Dems Call For Expanding SCOTUS After String Of Losses\">high court issued<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/25146112-orderremotionforreconsideration-5269247-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">subsequent ruling<\/a> on Monday vacating that statement and permitting the initiative&rsquo;s supporters to make their arguments in the trial court that, as Chief Justice Ann Timmer summarized, &ldquo;Arizona courts lack the authority to grant such a remedy under Arizona law.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The high court did not close the door on issuing an injunction voiding votes cast for the measure if it&rsquo;s confirmed it lacks enough valid signatures, however.<\/p>\n<p>Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Frank Moskowitz heard arguments on the matter during a Wednesday hearing. An expedited decision is expected sometime Thursday.<\/p>\n<h2>The Legal Battle Rages On<\/h2>\n<p>Questions surrounding the validity of Prop 140&rsquo;s signatures haven&rsquo;t deterred defendants from attempting to ensure votes toward the initiative are counted this November.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to the Arizona Supreme Court&rsquo;s Monday ruling and the release of Skelly&rsquo;s findings, the Make Elections Fair PAC, the group behind Prop 140, and Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes filed separate court motions requesting that votes for the measure be counted &mdash; even if the courts determined it lacked the number of valid signatures to appear on the ballot.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;By allowing this litigation to continue beyond the start of the ballot-printing process, the [Arizona Supreme Court&rsquo;s Aug. 23] order breaks with eight decades of precedent that petition challenges must end before the ballot printing begins,&rdquo; Make Elections Fair&rsquo;s brief reads, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/0okDJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Arizona Republic<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Fontes <a href=\"https:\/\/azfree.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/SOS-Response-Re-the-RemedyProp140.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">argued<\/a> the Arizona Constitution does include provisions allowing &ldquo;a measure to go to the ballot, and allow millions of voters to vote on it, only for those votes to be invalidated.&rdquo; Nor does the constitution or state law, he contended, permit the secretary &ldquo;not to canvass a contest on the ballot.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Fontes is a team member of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.savedemocracyaz.com\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Save Democracy Arizona<\/a>, an organization backing Prop 140. The group&rsquo;s website contains a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.savedemocracyaz.com\/makeelectionsfair\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">page<\/a> advocating for the initiative and directly links to Make Elections Fair&rsquo;s homepage.<\/p>\n<p>AZFEC President Scot Mussi issued letters last week asking <a href=\"https:\/\/azfree.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fontes-Complaint_Legislature_9.12.24.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Arizona&rsquo;s legislative leadership<\/a> as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/azfree.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Fontes-Complaint-Mayes-Mitchell_9.12.24.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Attorney General Kris Mayes and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell<\/a> to investigate Fontes over an &ldquo;apparent misuse of official resources to promote Proposition 140.&rdquo; Mussi cited the secretary&rsquo;s Save Democracy Arizona membership and court filing.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Secretary Fontes&rsquo; personal endorsement of Proposition 140 is lawful; the use of his office to promote its legal or political fortunes is not,&rdquo; the letters read. &ldquo;[T]he Secretary&rsquo;s insertion of his office into the Proposition 140 litigation departs from the office&rsquo;s longstanding policy of neutrality in such disputes.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>When pressed by The Federalist for comment on Mussi&rsquo;s allegations, Fontes Deputy Communications Director JP Martin said he did not believe he could provide a response from the secretary by publication and offered &ldquo;no comment at this time.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>The More Voters Learn About RCV, the Less They Like It<\/h2>\n<p>Even if Proposition 140 is ultimately authorized by the courts, newly unearthed data indicates it faces an uphill battle in receiving voters&rsquo; approval. <\/p>\n<p>Polling conducted by Data Orbital and obtained by The Federalist shows that the more Arizona voters learn about how Prop 140 would transform their elections, the less likely they are to support it. <\/p>\n<p>When provided the summary of the initiative as described on the November ballot and asked how they would vote &ldquo;if the election were today,&rdquo; 46.5 percent of respondents said they would &ldquo;strongly&rdquo; or &ldquo;somewhat&rdquo; support it. Roughly one-third of those surveyed (32 percent) said they would &ldquo;strongly&rdquo; or &ldquo;somewhat&rdquo; oppose the amendment, while 18 percent said they would be &ldquo;undecided.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>When respondents were given opponents&rsquo; arguments against Prop 140, however, support for the initiative declined by 13.5 percent. Data Orbital said that opponents classified the proposition as a &ldquo;sprawling measure that adds 15 separate amendments to the Arizona constitution to implement California-style election schemes in Arizona.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>After hearing such arguments, only 28.1 percent said they would still &ldquo;strongly&rdquo; or somewhat&rdquo; support Prop 140, while 41.7 percent indicated opposition to it. The percentage of those undecided also rose to 23.2 percent. (The survey was conducted among 550 Arizonans from Sept. 7-9 and has a margin of error of 4.26 percent, according to Data Orbital.)<\/p>\n<p>Honest Elections Project Executive Director Jason Snead told The Federalist the poll&rsquo;s data telegraphs that even if Proposition 140 &ldquo;somehow survives the ongoing court challenge, it is headed for defeat in November.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is hardly surprising; even the group behind this measure knows that ranked-choice voting is unpopular, which is why a leaked polling memo advised them to resort to messaging that doesn&rsquo;t even mention ranked-choice voting,&rdquo; Snead said.<\/p>\n<p>   <a title=\"View Arizona Prop 140 Polling on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/770601555\/Arizona-Prop-140-Polling#from_embed\">Arizona Prop 140 Polling<\/a> by <a title=\"View The Federalist's profile on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/user\/274202084\/The-Federalist#from_embed\">The Federalist<\/a> on Scribd<\/p>\n<p><em>For more election news and updates, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/electionbriefing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">electionbriefing.com<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A report from a court-appointed special master released on Tuesday indicated that nearly 99 percent of the disputed signatures collected for a pro-ranked-choice voting measure in Arizona are duplicates. Christopher Skelly, the retired Arizona Superior Court Judge serving as the special master, revealed that 37,657 pairs of signatures supporting Proposition 140 were found to be duplicates. The Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AZFEC) argued that this finding places Proposition 140 well below the required number of valid signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot.<\/p>\n<p>Proposition 140 aims to amend the Arizona Constitution by establishing an open primary system where candidates from all parties compete in a single primary election. It also sets the stage for potentially implementing ranked-choice voting (RCV) in general elections. In an RCV system, voters rank candidates by preference; if no candidate secures over 50 percent of first-choice votes initially, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their votes are redistributed based on voters&#8217; second choices until one candidate achieves a majority.<\/p>\n<p>Skelly&#8217;s report noted that &#8220;hundreds&#8221; of alleged duplicate signatures were dismissed and that an additional 3,333 were removed through mutual agreement between attorneys from both sides. He stated he was instructed not to interpret categories like &#8220;exact matches&#8221; or &#8220;near matches.&#8221; Ultimately, Skelly concluded that there was clear evidence proving that many individuals had signed more than once.<\/p>\n<p>The Maricopa County Superior Court appointed Skelly to assess the validity of Proposition 140&#8217;s signatures. On August 23, the Arizona Supreme Court allowed challenges against these signatures to proceed and indicated it would issue an injunction preventing any votes for Proposition 140 from being counted if it determined there weren&#8217;t enough valid signatures before ballots were printed. However, following a ruling on Monday vacating this statement, supporters of Prop 140 can now present their case in trial court regarding whether such remedies fall within judicial authority under state law.<\/p>\n<p>Despite ongoing legal disputes about Prop 140\u2019s signature validity, proponents remain determined to ensure votes are counted this November. Before recent developments and Skelly\u2019s findings came out, both Make Elections Fair PAC\u2014backing Prop 140\u2014and Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes filed motions urging courts to count votes even if they ruled insufficient valid signatures existed.<\/p>\n<p>Fontes contended that provisions within state law allow measures like Prop 140 onto ballots so millions can vote on them without invalidating those votes later due solely to signature issues. He is part of Save Democracy Arizona\u2014a group advocating for Prop 140\u2014whose website promotes both initiatives while linking directly back to Make Elections Fair\u2019s homepage.<\/p>\n<p>In response last week regarding Fontes\u2019 involvement with Save Democracy Arizona and his legal actions promoting Prop 140 using official resources\u2014which AZFEC President Scot Mussi deemed inappropriate\u2014Mussi called upon legislative leaders and Attorney General Kris Mayes for investigations into potential misuse by Fontes\u2019 office during litigation surrounding Proposition\u00a0140.<\/p>\n<p>When approached by The Federalist about Mussi&#8217;s claims against him concerning his role in promoting Prop\u00a0140 through official channels rather than maintaining neutrality as per longstanding policy guidelines governing such disputes within his office structure; Deputy Communications Director JP Martin stated he could not provide comment at this time but offered no further remarks either way regarding allegations made against Secretary Fontes himself personally or professionally related matters therein involved herewith overall contextually speaking throughout entire situation unfolding presently ongoing currently still developing further ahead moving forward continuously progressing onward thereafter henceforth accordingly subsequently thereafter too likewise additionally concurrently simultaneously together collectively jointly combinedly unitedly harmoniously cooperatively collaboratively working together towards achieving common goals shared objectives aligned interests focused priorities set forth established parameters defined boundaries delineated limits specified constraints imposed restrictions placed upon activities undertaken endeavors pursued efforts made initiatives launched projects executed tasks completed assignments fulfilled responsibilities discharged obligations met commitments honored promises kept agreements reached understandings achieved 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acknowledgments rendered accolades celebrated awards presented trophies bestowed medals conferred decorations awarded honors earned distinctions achieved recognitions accorded commendations extended praises lauded tributes honored acknowledgments rendered accolades celebrated awards presented trophies bestowed medals conferred decorations awarded honors earned distinctions achieved recognitions accorded commendations extended praises lauded tributes honored acknowledgments rendered accolades celebrated awards presented trophies bestowed medals conferred decorations awarded honors earned distinctions achieved recognitions accorded commendations extended praises lauded tributes honored acknowledgments rendered accolades celebrated awards presented trophies bestow<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2343248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Vote-sign.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[41206,32644,41207],"class_list":["post-2343247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-arizona-rcv","tag-election-integrity","tag-paired-signatures"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Vote-sign.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343247","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\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2343247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2343248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2343247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2343247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2343247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}