By Andrew Oxford | Arizona Republic
A federal judge rejected a request by two ballot measure campaigns to collect petition signatures from voters online as an alternative to dispatching volunteers with clipboards during a pandemic.
Arguing that public health precautions have curtailed their efforts to earn spots on the ballot in November, the campaigns filed suit earlier this month, asking a judge to order the Arizona government to let them use the same website that candidates for state office use to collect signatures from voters.
Secretary of State Katie Hobbs supported the proposal and said her office could make changes necessary to the website, known as E-Qual, to accommodate the initiatives.
But U.S. District Court Judge Dominic Lanza said the Arizona Constitution requires initiative campaigns to collect signatures from supporters in person.
