Arizona Ballot Order

Lawsuit brought by the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and others against Arizona challenging a ballot order statute which requires that candidates affiliated with the same political party as the gubernatorial candidate who won the most votes in a particular county are listed first on that county’s ballots. The complaint alleges that the statute unduly burdens the right to vote in violation of the First and 14th Amendments and treats similarly situated candidates differently without sufficient justification in violation of the 14th Amendment. The Democratic groups appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after the district court dismissed the case. The 9th Circuit reversed the district court’s decision, holding that “at least one of the plaintiffs—the DNC—has standing to bring this suit and that Plaintiffs’ claims do not present a nonjusticiable political question.” The case was remanded back to the district court for further proceedings, but the parties then agreed to dismiss the case. On July 7, the state of Arizona filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to reverse the 9th Circuit’s opinion and grant the state of Arizona’s motion to intervene in the case. On Dec. 12, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Last updated: December 12, 2022 11:21 am EST