An Arizona superior court judge rejected a challenge to a measure, Proposition 140, that would amend the state constitution and allow for open primaries in the Grand Canyon State.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Frank Moskowitz ruled on Thursday that the votes can be counted for the proposal, dubbed “Make Arizona Elections Fair Act,” that would permit all registered voters in the state to pick from all candidates in the primary election, no matter which party the candidate represents. After all of the votes in the race end up being counted, the top two vote-getters would proceed to the general election.
The measure has faced legal barriers from the right. The right-leaning Arizona Free Enterprise Club argued that nearly 40,000 of the proposition’s signatures were duplicates.
Moskowitz did not take up the evidence of duplicate signatures, but soon after, the state’s Supreme Court ordered the former Gov. Jan Brewer-appointed judge to settle if duplicates were involved, according to The Arizona Mirror. The Arizona Supreme Court also said in their ruling that if the proposition did not get enough signatures, the votes for it should not be counted. After being asked to reevaluate the order, Arizona’s highest court walked back the statement, The Mirror reported.
