Far-right Patriot Party fails to become an official party in AZ

[TexasTowelie]

The far-right Patriot Party of Arizona failed to gather enough valid signatures to become a recognized party on the 2024 ballot.

Secretary of State Adrian Fontes announced Monday that the would-be political party gathered 37,227 signatures. That’s more than the 34,127 needed, but a required verification of the signatures determined only 31,018 were valid.

“After the required statutory review by my office and by county elections officials across the state, the Patriot Party of Arizona has not met the minimum signature requirement and, therefore, does not qualify as a new political party for federal, statewide, and legislative races in the 2024 Primary and General Elections under Arizona law,” Fontes said in a press release.

The news comes as Fontes has faced pressure from the Republican National Committee and the Arizona Republican Party, who claimed that they would take Fontes to court if the Patriot Party of Arizona became a recognized party. The GOP claimed that 8,000 signatures were from non-registered voters and that 10,000 signatures were from more than two years ago, among other errors.

Read more: https://www.azmirror.com/blog/far-right-patriot-party-fails-to-become-an-official-party-in-az/

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. Ballot access laws can work at times

[marybourg]

2. Gee, the party that used to complain

about “frivolous lawsuits”! Is there an issue or an event that they haven’t threatened to sue over lately?

[madeup64]

3. Perhaps an unpopular opinion here

It's to bad they didn't gain ballot access. All they would have done is peel of votes that otherwise would have most likely gone to Republicans. Lots of close races here in Arizona at all levels (local, state, federal) the last few elections. Democrats surely would have benefited from this.

[marybourg]

4. In the short run: true. In the long

run they would have become a malign influence in AZ politics, making regular publicans look moderate.