Opinion ID: 1123009
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Does a candidate's failure to fill in the designation invalidate the petition or is such omission de minimis?

Text: The nominating petitions were designed to in some measure [weed] out the cranks, the publicity seekers, the frivolous candidates who have no intention of going through with the campaign. Adams v. Bolin, 77 Ariz. 316, 320, 271 P.2d 472, 475 (1954). The problem is to strike a balance, to make the requirements stringent enough to discourage those who do not for an instant merit the voter's consideration, yet not keep out those who are serious in their efforts and have a reasonable number of supporters. Id. We recognize that politics have changed since the days of the Progressive Party and Bull Moose Republicans. The 1901 nomination process was designed for candidates of parties that had not run in previous elections. Ariz. Civ.Code 1901, § 2317. This function has since been usurped by A.R.S. §§ 16-802 and 16-804, which qualify political parties. Now the general ballot, non-primary nomination procedure is principally used by people who do not wish to attach a party affiliation to their campaign or wish to evade primary contests by avoiding party affiliation. While some may accept the connotations of Independent for their candidacy, it is also perfectly acceptable to avoid any associations and choose something nonexistent or nonsensical as a ballot designation. Pulling a designation out of the blue is not forbidden by prior case law. In Board of Supervisors v. Harrington, 85 Ariz. 163, 333 P.2d 971 (1958), the majority held that a nominated candidate could not list himself as a Republican when no Republican had run in the party primary for the position. However, neither the majority nor the dissent addressed the question of what designation should be used if the candidate was not a member of an established party. In the same year, the court considered whether a candidate, registered as a Republican, could be nominated under the title of Clean Government Party. Cavender v. Board of Supervisors, 85 Ariz. 156, 333 P.2d 967 (1958). Again, the issue was who was eligible to use the petition system, not how non-party candidates designated themselves. The court held that a candidate may create a previously unheard of designation for his candidacy. The court, however, has never decided whether the candidate or those who sign the nominating petitions must designate a party. It has been suggested the requirement for a designation is to prevent misleading the voters and thus is not de minimis. However, Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and various other qualified party politicians cannot use the nominating procedure other than by primary election. See A.R.S. § 16-341(A) and (B). Because the petition signer must sign a statement that denies membership in these parties, [1] using a blank to hide such affiliation would be a misrepresentation and a clear violation of the statute. A blank space when one considers oneself an Independent (a designation in Arizona that means no party rather than a specific party) is no more misleading to a voter than a candidate who chooses to designate himself as a candidate from the Greens, the Clean Government Party, or Space Aliens United. Furthermore, such non-party candidates appear on the general election ballot in the column for Other Candidates, along with the designation they chose on their certificate of nomination. A.R.S. § 16-502(E). [2] Thus, the party designation on the nominating petition is essentially irrelevant for the general election. The party designation on the nominating petitions is simply for the benefit of the people signing the petitions. Given the designation can be anything the candidate dreams up, as long as it is not the same as a party that holds primary elections, we conclude that filling in the required designation blank is not essential for candidacy. Further, the statute does not mandate perfection but only that candidates substantially comply with its requirements. We find, therefore, that the absence of a designation on the petitions was de minimis. Although it was certainly unwise for Appellant, as well as the county elections commissioner, to fill in the designation space after her petitions had been signed and filed, an attempt at post hoc designation was not fatal to her candidacy.