Sedona AZ (August 1, 2018) – The Sedona City Clerk has informed proponents of a citizen initiative to establish a permanent base adjustment to the city’s expenditure authority that their proposal has failed to qualify for the Nov. 6 ballot.
The proposal failed following completion of a comprehensive review process as established by the Arizona Legislature with guidance from the secretary of state. The final phase of the process included receipt of random sampling results from the Yavapai and Coconino county recorders which resulted in a determination by the city clerk that 16 percent of the petition signatures are invalid. The projected number of valid signatures that remain is below the statutory requirement.
Read the notices provided to the petition applicants here. 22-page PDF
Proponents of the permanent base adjustment sought to place a proposal on the city’s general election ballot to establish a permanent expenditure limit of approximately $25.2 million subsequent to the Home Rule vote scheduled for the Aug. 28 primary ballot by the Sedona City Council.
The process for removing petition and ineligible signatures is governed by Arizona law, A.R.S 19-121.01-04.
The city clerk first removes petition sheets that do not meet requirements for form. After this process is completed the clerk reviews the sheets to determine the county of the majority of the signers and removes all signatures of those not in the county of the majority on each sheet. Then the signature sheets are grouped by county of registration of the majority of those signing.
If the signatures that remain meet the constitutional minimum, the city clerk requests that the Yavapai and Coconino county recorders check specific signatures among random-sample sheets for verification that the signer is a qualified elector. In the case of an initiative, including the Sedona permanent base adjustment initiative, this is a random sample of five percent. The signatures selected for verification by the county are randomly generated by the Arizona Secretary of State.
The city of Sedona will conduct its 2018 primary election Tuesday, Aug. 28, and the general election, if necessary, Tuesday, Nov. 6.
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Contact: Dwight Kadar FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Telephone: (281) 610-0725 July 31, 2018
Email: dwightkadar@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.arizonaliberty.us
City of Sedona accused of illegally attempting to block citizens’ ballot initiative
Arizona Liberty, a local political action committee, is filing a lawsuit in Yavapai County Superior Court against the City of Sedona for illegally invalidating its citizens’ initiative to place a Permanent Base Adjustment on the November 6, 2018 ballot.
A Permanent Base Adjustment lets voters decide how much of their taxpayer dollars the City of Sedona would be allowed to spend. Currently, there are no limits.
“This outrageous attempt to disenfranchise voters will not stand,” said Arizona Liberty PAC Treasurer Dwight Kadar. “We will go to court to protect citizens’ right to vote on the financial future of Sedona.”
“On July 9th, Arizona Liberty submitted 639 signatures to Sedona City Clerk Susan Irvine to put the citizens’ initiative on the ballot, well above the required 429,” explained Kadar. “And on July 30th, we received written notification from the City Clerk that a total of 156 signatures were found to be ineligible.”
The City Clerk rejected them as ineligible because, in her words, “the signatures were not county of majority on petition.”
Arizona Liberty has contacted election officials in both Coconino and Yavapai Counties and they have no knowledge of such language or requirement.