BREAKING: AZ Supreme Court Clears Way for Open Primary Initiative

image
Published: 17 Aug, 2012
Updated: 13 Oct, 2022
1 min read

open_primary

Arizona's Supreme Court today reversed a previous Superior Court ruling which struck the Open Elections/Open Government Act from November's general election ballot. The initiative implements open primary elections in the state of Arizona and ends funding of party committee positions. Maricopa Superior Court Judge Mark Brain previously ruled the initiative violated Arizona's single subject rule, and issued an injunction barring its inclusion on the ballot. Today's ruling reverses this decision and upholds the initiative as constitutional.

In a press release statement from the Open Elections/Open Government Act supporters:

"This is a clear victory for Arizona voters, and a defeat for those who want the status quo,” said Rick Romley, former Maricopa County Attorney and one of the key supporters of the ballot measure.  “Our political process is obviously broken, and with today’s ruling the voters will have a chance to reform the system. "We were always confident that the will of over 365,000 voters would prevail in court, and with this ruling, we are now even more confident we will prevail in November," said Sarah Smallhouse, Tucson community leader and one of the leaders of the campaign in Southern Arizona.

The court's order can be viewed here.

For more background on the Open Elections/Open Government Act court battle, see previous IVN reports:

Open Primary Appeal Reaches Arizona Supreme Court

Finance Clause Cripples Arizona Open Primary Initiative

Latest articles

Picture of PA capitol building with a no vote sign in front of it.
Taxed But Silenced: Pennsylvania Independents Sue for Right to Vote
Four independent voters, including well-known journalist Michael Smerconish and political reform advocate David Thornburgh, are suing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, arguing that its closed primary system violates their constitutional rights under the state’s Free and Equal Elections Clause....
15 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
vote here sign with people standing in line to vote.
Why Are Democrats in DC Failing to Implement an Initiative Passed by 73% of Voters?
Back in November, DC voters overwhelmingly approved Initiative 83, a measure that called for semi-open primaries and ranked choice voting (RCV) in all city elections. The problem – the DC City Council has yet to fully fund it....
15 Jul, 2025
-
4 min read
Cartoon image of Cuomo and Adams running into each other with cars.
Adams and Cuomo Power Players Play Chicken With New York Elections
NYC Mayor Eric Adams and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo are currently playing a game of chicken with each other – leveraging the city’s electoral system to pressure the other to quit the race. The question is: Who will blink first? Or… are they headed for a collision?...
14 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read