Foes vow to fight new ballot hurdles

Libertarian Barry Hess said he's determined to run for governor next year, even though he'll face a 4,380 percent increase in the number of signatures he'll need to qualify for the ballot.

For Democrats, it's a 9.8 percent increase. Meanwhile, any Republican seeking the seat will have a 5.8 percent decrease in the signature requirement.

The shifting numbers are due to a late addition to a wide-ranging election bill that Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law last week. The measure was favored by Republicans, who flexed some local and national muscle to revive House Bill 2305 in the waning hours of the recently completed legislative session.

The law raises the bar to qualify for the ballot so high that minor-party candidates, such as Greens and Libertarians, say it would be nearly impossible for them to compete in statewide, congressional and legislative races. The law also raises the requirement for Democrats seeking to run statewide, be it for governor or U.S. senator.

In legislative and congressional contests, the effect on Democrats and Republicans varies with the voter registration in a given district. In some cases, they will need to collect fewer voter signatures; in others, more.

That provision, on top of other parts of HB 2305, has energized critics who say they are working on plans to stop the law from taking effect Sept. 13.

Warren Severin, chairman of the Arizona Libertarian Party, predicts a referendum to put the matter before the voters in 2014.

"There will be legal action," said Severin, adding that opponents are meeting Tuesday to discuss strategy.

D.J. Quinlan, executive director of the state Democratic Party, says the bill smacks of voter suppression with its tighter limits on the citizen-initiative process, ballot collection and the early-voting list.

"All options are on the table," he said.

The new law ties the signature requirement to the total number of voters registered in a given district, as opposed to the the current system, which is linked to the number of registered voters of a given party. Parties with smaller numbers have had a smaller base from which to calculate the signature requirement; the new law widens that base by linking it to all registered voters, not just those of a given party.

Representatives of the Green and Libertarian parties said they find that particularly offensive in the case of primaries, in which parties nominate their own candidates. In some cases, they will have to get the signatures of independents, Democrats or Republicans to qualify for their own party primaries.

Angel Torres, chairman of the Arizona Green Party, said the law effectively shuts his party out of primary contests because of the higher signature count. He predicted the Greens will opt to run as write-in candidates.

Critics of the law said it's a valentine for Republican candidates, who often view third-party candidates, particularly Libertarians, as spoilers in their races. The bill would cement the two major parties' hold on Arizona elections, said Hess, communications chairman for the state Libertarian Party.

Republicans who pushed the measure say it's a matter of fairness: All candidates for a given race should meet the same signature threshold.

The bill failed on a Senate vote but was revived when Sens. Steve Pierce and Rich Crandall reversed their stances and voted in favor of it.

Pierce, R-Prescott, said he got a call from Daniel Scarpinato, spokesman for the Republican National Congressional Committee. Pierce said Scarpinato was not calling in his official capacity, although his concern was how the signature requirement would affect campaigns.

Scarpinato was the spokesman for Republican Jonathan Paton's congressional campaign last year. Paton lost to Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick in a close race for Congressional District 1 that also included Libertarian Kim Allen, who received 6percent of the vote. If Allen were not on the ballot, Paton's camp believes, Paton would have won.

To underscore the political ramifications of HB 2305 and its effect on minor-party candidates, Pierce said an angry state Rep. Adam Kwasman, R-Oro Valley, confronted him after the bill failed. Kwasman said he needed it to pass because he plans to run in CD1 next year, Pierce said.

Kwasman did not return a call seeking comment.

Pierce said he switched his vote after calling two people, whom he did not identify, asking to be released from his promise to vote against the bill.

Scarpinato did not return a call for comment. Crandall, R-Mesa, also did not reply to several requests for him to comment on his changed vote.

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