State Senator Hoffman Declares 'AZ Clean Elections' is in Violation of State Law
An election integrity scandal is brewing in Arizona…
Arizona State Senator Jake Hoffman has just issued a statement regarding the recent exclusion of Green Party candidates from upcoming debates sponsored by ‘AZ Clean Elections’, and his initial conclusion is that the commission is in violation of state law.
To understand its context you first need to understand that over the past several weeks, the Arizona Green Party has been fighting to get five candidates to appear in ‘AZ Clean Elections’ televised debates, but they have been barred from appearing because of a ‘1% rule’, placed upon candidates by the the state’s ‘Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission’ (AZCCEC), more widely known as ‘AZ Clean Elections’.
This rule essentially prevents smaller political parties in Arizona, like the Green Party, from debating because it requires them to garner 1% of the total vote in the primary election. For the Green Party, this means that they would need around 12K votes, despite the fact that they only have around 3K voting members in total.
“The rule creates an outright ban against some political parties' candidates from ever being eligible to participate in general election debates,” says Hoffman.
“After a thorough review of the process in which the rule was adopted, and a response provided by the Commission's Executive Director, it's been determined the rule was not submitted for approval to the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council (GRRC) for compliance with the Arizona Administrative Procedures Act (APA). This maneuver violates the 2018 voter-approved Proposition 306,” adds Hoffman.
This makes Hoffman the first government official to declare the commission’s actions in violation of state law because according to Hoffman, the rule was not properly established.
The commission’s own rulebook states that for the general election, only write-in candidates can be disqualified. These Green Party candidates have officially made the ballot, as verified to me directly by the Secretary of State’s office.
To make this situation even more unique is the fact that Republicans openly support the idea of Green Party inclusion. Democrats have no comment.
Kari Lake (R), the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate has gone so far as to say: “The Arizona Clean Elections Commission is supposed to be a non-partisan entity funded by taxpayers. Yet, their recent decision to exclude the Green Party nominee (Eduardo Quintana (G)) from the U.S. Senate debate goes directly against their mission.”
“The voters of Arizona deserve better. We stand for an open and honest debate where all voices can be heard,” adds Lake.
Hoffman is further calling on the commission to properly submit the rule for approval and “invite all qualified candidates to general election debates until any new rules are appropriately adopted in a transparent and lawful manner”.
"Arizona law only gives the Commission discretion to determine the manner in which debates are conducted. It does not give the Commission unfettered discretion to pick and choose which candidates get to participate," says Hoffman.
"If the Commission believes this rule is a good idea, then there should be nothing to fear from holding an open and public process for promulgating rules. Evading this process invites litigation, calls into question the independence of the Commission, and deprives Arizona citizens of the protections afforded under the APA."
There is still time left for the commission to reverse its decision if it chooses to; the upcoming U.S. Senate debate is scheduled for Oct. 9th.
‘AZ Clean Elections’ has yet to respond to Hoffman’s public records request or my requests for comment, and it is unknown if Attorney General Kris Mayes will investigate or prosecute this violation.