Sharnai Fisher was booted from the ballot for not having enough valid nomination signatures./campaign photo
By Maritza Dominguez | Arizona Republic
The crowded field of candidates in the Goodyear City Council race narrowed Friday after Sharnai Fisher was booted from the ballot for not having enough valid nomination signatures.
Goodyear, a fast-growing suburb southwest of Phoenix that is approaching 100,000 residents, has three council seats up for grabs in the Aug. 2 election.
The council candidates had to collect 510 signatures from Goodyear voters to appear on the ballot.
Sharen Crain-Hodge, a Goodyear resident, challenged the 544 signatures that Fisher filed, saying 204 were invalid because the signers weren’t registered to vote in the city and other disqualifiers. That prompted a review by the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, which found 107 invalid signatures and left Fisher short of the number needed to qualify for the ballot.
Fisher appealed the legal challenge to the Arizona Supreme Court. Attorney David Erlichman argued that Fisher was not properly served the lawsuit after she received it via email from the City Clerk’s Office and not from a qualified process server. The state Supreme Court rejected that argument.
Such petition challenges are not uncommon. Arizona election law provides a 10-day window for legal challenges after the deadline for candidates to file their nominating petitions. The courts hear the cases on an expedited schedule.
In April, two Surprise council candidates, including an incumbent, were booted for similar reasons.
