An Arizona judge has given the go-ahead for a recall election of state Sen. Russell Pearce (R), who authored the state’s controversial immigration law.
On Friday, Superior Court Judge Hugh Hegyi rejected a challenge of the recall by Pearce’s attorney Lisa Hauser, who argued that a number of the signatures didn’t meet state requirements.
From The Arizona Republic:
Hauser’s legal challenge alleged several problems with the signatures, including that none of the petition forms complied with state requirements that a petition gatherer sign an oath that the signatures are “genuine” and that the recall statement was misleading and did not clearly explain that signing the petition would support a recall election.
“As the Supreme Court has stated, recall petitions are ‘not a judicial (proceeding) but political in nature,'” Hegyi wrote. “The voters may recall a public official for any reason or no reason at all.”
Hauser needs to get over 2,609 of the 10,365 signatures thrown out in order to stop the recall election. She says she will appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Citizens for a Better Arizona filed the petition with Arizona’s Secretary of State in June, citing the immigration law, Pearce’s occasional forays into birtherism, and his opposition to the 14th Amendment, among other things, as reasons for the recall.
The election is scheduled for November 8.
