By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services | Arizona Capitol Times
Supporters of a ban on “dark money” in political races are making a last-ditch effort to put the issue to voters in November.
Legal briefs filed with the Arizona Supreme Court contend that Secretary of State Michele Reagan improperly refused to consider a number of petitions.
For example, attorney Kimberly Demarchi said Reagan concluded that several petitions were not attached to the actual text of the initiative as required by law. So she refused to count the signatures on those petitions.
But Demarchi said it is “undisputed” that the petitions were in the boxes with the text of the measure. In fact, she said, the photographs of the petitions show marks in the upper left corner where the staples would have been.
The fact that a staple was “lost in transit,” Demarchi said should not void the signatures.
And she said that petitions from some other circulators were improperly removed from consideration.
