* A bill with bipartisan backing in the Arizona legislature aims to force the newly named Arizona Independent Party to change its name.
* Proponents of the bill argue the name “Independent” will confuse voters who are registered as unaffiliated with any party.
* The Arizona Independent Party and its gubernatorial candidate say the move is an attempt by major parties to stifle competition.
A third-party candidate for governor says a lawsuit is coming if Gov. Katie Hobbs signs a bill that would force a name change for the Arizona Independent Party, a new political party that has aligned both Democrats and Republicans against it.
The bill is Senate Bill 1609, and it sailed through a key Capitol vote on Feb. 20 with lawmakers of both major parties in favor, a sign it may easily win support in later votes that tee it up for Hobbs’ signature to become law.
The bill is Arizona politicians’ latest attempt to push back on the new party name they say will confuse and potentially disenfranchise voters. There were also three lawsuits challenging the party’s name that have been combined into one case that is ongoing.
But leaders of the Arizona Independent Party as well as its chosen candidate for governor, health care executive Hugh Lytle, say the two major parties are just trying to stifle competition and, in doing so, overlook the views of about a third of Arizona voters. Lytle has sought to appeal to those voters who chose not to register with an existing party, a much bigger group than the about 41,000 voters who registered with the Arizona Independent Party.
“Are they putting party over people?” Lytle asked while speaking in opposition to the bill in a Capitol news conference. “That’s the question you have to ask yourself, and is that the kind of government you want. It’s not the kind of government I’m signing up for. I’m signing up to help bring everyone together.”
Arizonans who don’t choose a party or who choose to be independent when they register to vote make up about a third of the state’s voters, about 1.5 million strong as of January. For years, those voters have been considered “other” in the state’s official registration counts.
What does the bill do?
The bill, sponsored by Sen. TJ Shope, R-Coolidge, would prevent a political party from using the following terms in its name: independent, no party, no preference, unaffiliated, party not designated, decline to state, or anything similar. Parties that have such names would have to change the name within 10 days of the bill going into effect.
“We have every right to go ahead and step in and make sure that people who may have registered that they didn’t want to be a part of a party, don’t get swallowed up by a party,” Shope said.
Shope’s bill would be retroactive, unlike most bills. Its effective date is the beginning of 2025, months before the Arizona Independent Party name was approved by Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. The bill has an emergency clause, meaning if it gets support from two-thirds of lawmakers, it will become law immediately after Hobbs signs it.
That support looks likely. The Senate’s Judiciary and Elections Committee approved the measure in a 7-0 vote on Feb. 20, with both Democrats and Republicans warning the name would confuse voters. Pinal County Recorder Dana Lewis said voters could be disenfranchised if the name is not changed. The measure will need to pass the full Senate and be approved by the House before heading to Hobbs.
The governor’s spokesperson, Liliana Soto, declined to say whether Hobbs would sign the bill. But her administration has said the name change invites “chaos” for voters.
Hobbs, a Democrat, is on the ballot this year and in a close contest, a third-party candidate could draw enough votes from her or the Republican nominee to influence the result.
Should a lawsuit over the bill come to fruition, Arizona Independent Party Chair Paul Johnson said it would likely be a federal civil rights matter on First Amendment or Fourteenth Amendment grounds.
Another legal battle over the new party name
Fontes’ decision last year to allow what was formerly the No Labels Party to change its name to the Arizona Independent Party has created unique allies in the state’s two major parties. Fontes has previously said there was no law on the renaming issue, but “the general rule is to presume conduct not prohibited is permitted.”
The Republican Party of Arizona and Arizona Democratic Party filed separate lawsuits over the name change, following a case brought by the state’s nonpartisan voter education agency, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission.
The cases have been merged into one, and generally argue Fontes did not have the authority to rename a party but should have made the Arizona Independent Party go through the process to be established as a new party. The state Republican Party has said the concern is that the change would make it easier for other candidates to qualify for the ballot.
The major parties and Clean Elections Commission have asked a judge to rule on the issue quickly, and an evidentiary hearing is set for March that could determine if the case continues to a trial. Arizona’s primary election is set for July 21, with the general election on Nov. 3.
Lytle’s candidacy prompts internal party pushback
Lytle isn’t the Arizona Independent Party’s only candidate for governor, but he is the favorite in Johnson’s eyes.
And Johnson’s support has stirred discontent among other candidates, including Teri Hourihan. Hourihan is a licensed professional counselor also running as an Arizona Independent Party candidate for governor.
Running with a political party’s backing means a significantly lower number of signatures is needed to qualify for the ballot. State law requires candidates who run but are not affiliated with an established political party to get about seven times the number of voter signatures as a Democrat or Republican candidate to be on the primary ballot.
That imbalance is one of Johnson’s main reasons for seeking the name change in the first place, saying he’s trying to level the playing field and give candidates a path to the ballot.
Hourihan said the Arizona Independent Party isn’t playing fair when it comes to its own candidates, and that Lytle has gotten more support than she has at community events and in party press releases.
“My opinion is that this party is no different than the other parties in place,” Hourihan said. “Hugh Lytle is only being lifted high as a party candidate due to his money and the party has no money to give.”
Johnson said Hourihan was invited to party events and was welcome to compete for the party’s nomination.
“But I also have an obligation to tell you honestly who I think are the best candidates,” Johnson said, adding that person was Lytle.
Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at [email protected] or 480-416-5669.
