Supporters of Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program declared victory Monday in blocking a reform initiative from reaching the ballot. A trial judge concluded that Proposition 212 will fall about 10,000 signatures short of the 255,949 valid signatures needed to take the issue to voters in the November general election.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge David McDowell reached that conclusion based on a check of petitions and a random sampling of signatures. But the Arizona Supreme Court is considering the matter and has yet to issue a final ruling on whether McDowell used the right methodology in reaching his decision.
Backers of the Protect Education Now Act, which proposes various reforms to the 15-year-old program, said any claims that the measure is dead are premature. “Do not believe the misinformation,” said Olivia Fierro, communications manager for the committee behind Prop.
“There are still many questions that need to be resolved,” she said. “As of right now, the Protect Education Act is still on the ballot.”
Jim Barton, an attorney for educators and the state teachers union who support the initiative, claims the formula that the trial judge is using could strike valid voters from the signature count. Initiative opponents, however, are counting on the justices using the equation accepted by the trial court.
Barton has another argument as well. He is telling the justices that if there is any question about the formula to be used, “doubt should be resolved in favor of counting the signatures and placing the measure on the ballot,” and giving voters the last word.
The initiative’s fate now rests with the Arizona Supreme Court, which must decide whether McDowell’s methodology was correct before the measure’s status for the November ballot is finally resolved.
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