Bill takes aim at Arizona Independent Party name change
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What's in a name? For new political parties in Arizona, it won't be terms like "independent" if a recently proposed bill gets through the Legislature.
Why it matters: Secretary of State Adrian Fontes last October approved the No Labels Party of Arizona's request to change its name to the Arizona Independent Party.
State of play: Sen. T.J. Shope (R-Coolidge) sponsored legislation that would prohibit new political parties from using the words "independent," "unaffiliated," "no preference," "no party," "party not designated" or "decline to state" in their names.
- New parties' names would also have to be "distinguishable" from other recognized parties.
- And existing parties wouldn't be able to change their names like No Labels did — they would have to go through the laborious process of starting a new party.
- The bill would be retroactive to December, when the No Labels name change went into effect.
Zoom in: Critics of the Arizona Independent Party argue that the name is confusing because people who aren't registered to vote under a recognized party are generally known as independents.
- Shope told Axios he expects a lot of bipartisan support for the bill.
The intrigue: Shope said he may amend his bill so it doesn't go into effect until the 2028 election cycle, noting that health care entrepreneur Hugh Lytle recently launched a campaign for governor as an Arizona Independent Party candidate and is already collecting signatures.
- Licensed professional counselor Teri Ann Hourihan has also filed to run as an Arizona Independent Party candidate for governor.
The other side: Arizona Independent Party chair Paul Johnson told Axios that Shope and other critics of his party don't care about voter confusion — they care about maintaining what he described as unfair hurdles for unaffiliated candidates.
- Johnson disputed that the party name is confusing and noted that the Secretary of State's Office barred the party from using the initials "IND" on the ballot.
By the numbers: Candidates who aren't affiliated with a major party must collect significantly more signatures to get on the ballot than Democrats and Republicans.
- For example, unaffiliated candidates for statewide office need 44,539 signatures, compared with 6,761 for Democrats and 7,588 for Republicans.
- Arizona Independent Party candidates need just 1,288.
- Yes, but: Unaffiliated candidates skip the primary and go straight to the general election ballot.
What we're watching: Opponents of the No Labels name change may not have to rely on Shope's bill to keep the Arizona Independent Party from appearing on the ballot with its new moniker.
- The Citizens Clean Elections Commission and the state Democratic and Republican parties have filed separate lawsuits seeking to overturn Fontes' approval.
- They argue that the name is confusing and that Fontes lacked legal authority to authorize the change.
What's next: The bill will go before the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Elections on Wednesday.