The Arizona Supreme Court will decide whether the Nov. 8 recall election for Senate President Russell Pearce will go forward. The high court on Wednesday agreed to consider the appeal in the case challenging the recall signatures.
Both sides had requested the hearing in hopes of speeding up the process instead of allowing the Arizona Court of Appeals to consider it first. Time is of the essence. A decision needs to be made by Sept. 23, when the state has to begin printing ballots.
The Supreme Court said that it will not hear oral arguments and that the justices will make a decision behind closed doors on Sept. 13. They will base their decision on written arguments.
Gov. Jan Brewer in July called the election in Mesa’s Legislative District 18 after Maricopa County elections officials certified that 10,365 of the 16,949 signatures submitted by Citizens for a Better Arizona were valid. The group needed at least 7,756 for the recall to qualify for the ballot.
Recall supporters have said they do not believe Pearce reflects the goals of District 18. They said residents want to see their leaders bring more jobs and improve education and health care, not push more legislation on illegal-immigration enforcement and loosening gun restrictions, as Pearce has done.
Pearce’s attorney, Lisa Hauser, filed a lawsuit challenging the petitions on behalf of a Pearce supporter in the district. Last month, county Superior Court Judge Hugh Hegyi denied that legal challenge.
Full Article: Russell Pearce recall: State’s high court to consider appeal.