The “Jungle Primary” initiative is done for now after Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Mark Brain ruled that it violates state law. The “two-tier” or “jungle primary” system would have required candidates for office from both parties to run in a single primary.
Judge Brain’s decision blocked Secretary of State, Ken Bennett, from putting the measure on the ballot.
Save Our Vote filed a lawsuit two weeks ago against “top two” or “jungle primary” for violating the Arizona Constitution’s “single-subject” rule. The group said that this important rule is in place to protect the voters from ballot initiatives that attempt to overhaul multiple aspects of Arizona law that are unrelated.
The court agreed with Save Our Vote that proponents of the “jungle primary” initiative reached too far when they tried to also change aspects of Arizona law pertaining to state assistance to political parties.
In his decision, Judge Brain wrote “The proposed prohibition of funding [to political parties] is entirely different [from establishing a top two primary] and there is no good reason that a vote for or against that topic should be bundled with a vote on an open primary.”
The Arizona Legislative Council had advised legislators that the “The proposition leaves to future Legislatures and governing bodies a number of issues, including who will have access to the statewide voter database, how vacancies will be handled, what percentage of votes will be set each year as the number of petition signatures required by each candidate for each office to qualify for the ballot, how to pay for the two tier election and how to pay for the cost of implementation and conforming legislation. The Department of Justice must pre-clear any changes.”
The Arizona Latino Republican Association, the largest conservative Latino organization in the state, has announced its opposition to the “jungle” or “top 2” primary system. “If approved this primary system would not only replicate the low voter turnout seen in California when they first instituted a system of this type, but repress the Latino vote and Latino candidates from coming forward to represent their communities,” said Reymundo Torres, ALRA’s state president. “In short this is a power grab by Democrats in a state where they don’t have the numbers to win honestly. They are attempting to steal the state which they cannot earn in a legitimate election and therefore have to create new ways of manipulating the outcomes of elections.”
“People support the jungle primary system in the name of progress for our State,” said ALRA Tucson chapter president Pat Sexton. “However, if the jungle primary system is adopted, progressives will simply be regressing Arizona 100 years.”
“Not only does Top Two severely limit voter choice, but as the court found, it is in direct violation of the Arizona Constitution,” said Mike Liburdi, legal counsel for Save Our Vote. “This decision can only be viewed as a major victory for Arizona voters.”
Proponents of overhauling Arizona’s elections have the option to appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court. Save Our Vote is committed to protecting voters from election schemes, and seeing this legal challenge through to the end.
Supporters intend to appeal the decision.