‘Dirty money’ measure likely to miss ballot

A citizens initiative that aims to eliminate so-called “dirty money,” or anonymous political spending, in Arizona elections, likely won’t appear on the Nov. 6 ballot.

State Elections Director Eric Spencer said Tuesday that the “Outlaw Dirty Money Act” has failed to qualify for the ballot — at least temporarily — because supporters didn’t submit enough voter signatures.

But the fate of the initiative is still in limbo as supporters and opponents battle in court, vociferously arguing over the validity of thousands of signatures.

“I’d say it’s hanging by a thread,” Spencer told The Arizona Republic on Tuesday night. “Every signature counts now. I think this is going to be litigated up to the very last minute here.”

The Outlaw Dirty Money campaign submitted an estimated 2,071 fewer valid signatures than the 225,963 required for the act to appear on the ballot, according to the state.

Their proposal would amend the Arizona Constitution to make public the identity of all major campaign con-

tributors. Anonymous donors have spent millions of dollars to influence recent Arizona elections.

Former Attorney General Terry Goddard, a Democrat who is the initiative’s main proponent, said he remains optimistic that enough signatures will be restored to keep it on the ballot.

“From the moment we filed, we always knew it would be close,” he told

The Republic on Tuesday night. “I think it would be premature to say that any of these numbers are final.”

The Outlaw Dirty Money campaign submitted 285,768 signatures when backers filed petitions in July. State and county elections officials — who vet a 5 percent sample of the signatures — found an estimated 61,900 were invalid.

In Arizona, citizens groups that bring initiatives to change state law must comply with a strict set of rules, and signatures can be disqualified for a host of technical reasons.

Goddard said that about 20,000 signatures are being contested as the campaign tussles with opponents and elections officials in court. He’s optimistic that they will regain more than the 2,100 needed to make the ballot.

For example, Goddard said, about 6,000 signatures were improperly thrown out when the state ruled that the paid circulators who gathered them needed to be registered.

But more signatures could also be thrown out as the court fight drags out. Conservative groups have filed a lawsuit to disqualify thousands of signatures collected in support of the initiative.

Plaintiffs in the suit include the leaders of high-profile conservative political groups that spend heavily to influence elections without disclosing donors.