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AZ Green Party sues to block 'sham candidates'
The Arizona Green Party is asking a judge to kick more than half of the group's nominees off the November ballot.
The unusual request, filed in federal court Monday, follows the nomination of 11 candidates allegedly recruited by Republican operatives to siphon votes from Democratic candidates.
Unless the judge intervenes, Arizona voters will be able to vote for a tarot card reader to be state treasurer or a street performer to regulate utilities.
It's all thanks to a little-known provision in state law that allows Green Party candidates to get the party's nomination with just one write-in vote. They don't even have to collect petition signatures.
The candidates say they're serious about changing government and energized to make their voices heard. Democrats claim they're being used as a dirty trick.
In legal filings that sought a swift hearing, the Green Party has labeled the group "sham candidates" and are asking a federal judge to oust them from the November ballot and strike down the obscure law that put them there with so little effort. Democrats have called for a criminal investigation.