By Hank Stephenson | Arizona Capitol Times
Sean Murphy was a mild-mannered Tucson bookstore employee before he filled out a two-page form, donned an eye patch and became one of the most absurd candidates on the 2008 Arizona presidential preference ballot.
He was only “one of the most absurd” candidates, because in 2008 and 2012, there were dozens of absurd candidates on Arizona’s crowded presidential primary ballot.
There will almost certainly be far fewer candidates this year. Legislators changed the law in 2012 to require candidates for president to show they have some reasonable support in order to appear on the ballot.
Before that, Murphy recalled, “You literally didn’t have to be registered to vote, or even a member of a party, to get on the ballot. All we did was go to Chase Bank and get a form notarized.”
