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Bill resolves candidate signature issue

  July 14, 2009


  Contact:  Bridget Schwartz Manock, government relations director, 480-312-2423

                  Pat Dodds, public affairs officer, 480-312-2336

  Bill resolves problem with ballooning
  signature requirement for candidates


Gov. Jan Brewer has signed a bill giving cities like Scottsdale the ability to fix a problem that could discourage future candidates from running for City Council seats.

HB 2048, introduced by Rep. Michele Reagan, allows cities like Scottsdale to reduce the minimum number of signatures to 1,000 to be listed as a candidate on a City Council ballot.

The required number of signatures recently had ballooned from about 1,600 to more than 5,100 because of Scottsdale’s high voter turnout and previous legislative changes related to the timing of city elections.

Previously, Scottsdale had conducted its elections in the spring, and turnout was typically lower than during the fall election cycle. The Legislature in 2006 passed a bill requiring cities like Scottsdale to conduct mayoral and city council elections at the same time as statewide primary and general elections. Scottsdale’s mayoral election in 2008 was held at the same time as the U.S. presidential election, when turnout was high.

Previously, under state law, the minimum number of signatures to be listed on the ballot for Mayor or City Council was 5 percent of the ballots cast in the last mayoral election. Because of the higher turnout in the November 2008 election, the number of signatures required for the next City Council ballot more than quadrupled.

HB 2048 gives the city the option to use the 5 percent minimum or set the minimum at 1,000.

The City Council endorsed the legislation as part of its annual State Legislative Program and is expected to adopt the new 1,000-signature threshold well before the next election season is underway.

“I was pleased to help Scottsdale resolve this problem and keep the signature requirements reasonable for citizens seeking office,” said Reagan.