They said they were recalling South Tucson Mayor Paul Diaz because he “gave the green light” to Pasedera Behavioral Health Network to “convert the Children’s Home to another agency that will worsen the city’s severe homeless, prostitution and drug addiction problems.” The statement wasn’t true, but it is what the residents of South Tucson read as they signed the recall petition.
The right to place a referendum, initiative or recall a public official on the ballot are constitutionally guaranteed in the state of Arizona. This year, Governor Doug Ducey vetoed legislation that would have required government clerks to take steps necessary to ensure that inconsequential clerical errors did not thwart those voter rights. Ducey claimed the burden was too great for government officials to bear.
While Ducey’s rational is unreasonable; it is not too much to expect clerks to make sure that the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed before sending the public out to collect signatures for ballot eligibility. It is just as unreasonable to claim that a petition upon which lies are written is acceptable simply because it has all the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed.