Judge rescues GOP lawmakers from pickle of their own making

By BOB CHRISTIE
Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — A judge in Yavapai County has saved Republicans in the Arizona Legislature from a political mess of their own making by ruling that a law that eliminated elections for political party precinct committeemen is unconstitutional. The Republican-controlled Legislature’s elimination of precinct committeemen elections had set off a firestorm among Republican party activists. Yavapai County Superior Court Judge John Napper ruled Tuesday that the law eliminating the elections was illegal special legislation and therefore void. The provision was tucked into a larger bill that remains in effect and was designed to equalize the number of signatures candidates need to get on the ballot. Those numbers were thrown out of whack because of once-a-decade redistricting.