Arizona Supreme Court Upholds Removal of Duplicate Signatures from School Choice Voucher Petition

• The Arizona Supreme Court has upheld a trial court's decision to remove duplicate signatures from the Protect Education Act petition.
• Around 24,000 signatures have been disqualified due to duplicate signatures, putting the measure below the legal threshold and preventing it from appearing on the ballot.
• The ruling affirms state law requiring all but one signature in a duplicative set to be removed.
• The decision has significant implications for Arizona's school choice program and the Protect Education Act.

Removing all but one signature of a duplicate set does not fail to retain one — it retains exactly one, which is all § 19-121.02(A)(8) requires.

The Arizona Supreme Court has upheld a trial court's decision to remove duplicate signatures from the Protect Education Act petition. This ruling has disqualified around 24,000 signatures, putting the measure below the legal threshold and preventing it from appearing on the ballot. The Protect Education Act, also known as Proposition 212, aims to limit Arizona's school choice program. Despite receiving nearly twice the minimum number of signatures required to appear on the ballot, the petition has been plagued by issues with duplicate signatures, invalid addresses, and other eligibility concerns.

The Supreme Court's decision affirms a trial court's method for removing duplicates, which is in line with state law. According to Arizona statute, all but one signature in a duplicative set must be removed. The Protect Education Act petition was initially submitted with over 420,000 signatures, but after removing facially invalid signatures and verifying the remaining ones, officials calculated a 75.2% validity rate. This brought the number of valid signatures closer to 292,000. However, Maricopa County Judge David McDowell had already tossed signatures collected by ineligible petition circulators, further reducing the total.

The Supreme Court's ruling has significant implications for Arizona's school choice program and the Protect Education Act. As the measure will not be approved, it will not limit the program, thus not affecting thousands of students who rely on vouchers to attend private schools through this specific initiative. The decision also highlights the importance of ensuring that petition signatures are valid and comply with state regulations. Lawyers advising clients on Arizona's school choice program should be aware of this development and consider its impact on their clients' eligibility for vouchers.

Lawyers advising clients on Arizona's school choice program should be aware that the state Supreme Court has upheld a trial court's decision to remove duplicate signatures from the Protect Education Act petition, which may impact their clients' eligibility for vouchers and require them to revisit their compliance strategies.

Source: Original reporting via Courthouse News