PHOENIX — Petition signatures for candidates are legally valid even if they have only the post office box of the signers, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
The high court rejected arguments that only signatures that have a street address, or at least a physical description of where the person lives, can be counted. Justice Rebecca White Berch, writing for the unanimous court, said state law doesn't require that signatures without that information be automatically disqualified.
The ruling will have an immediate effect in some counties that until now have refused to consider signatures on petitions when the person did not provide a street address.
But state Elections Director Joe Kanefield said candidates still should try, whenever possible, to get signers to write a street address. Even with Tuesday's ruling, he said, challengers still could try to invalidate signatures with post office boxes.
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"Do what you can to avoid the aggravation of a challenge," Kanefield said.
Maricopa County Elections Director Karen Osborne said the decision could create new problems. She said there would be no way to know if individuals who sign with only a post office box have moved from one legislative district into another and were not legally entitled to sign a petition.
And Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez said she's not sure the ruling helps clarify anything.
She noted that Pima County records include not only street addresses but also have the option for voters to list a mailing address. Rodriguez has both on her own registration.
Rodriguez said, though, that it is not unusual for people to change post office boxes even though they still maintain the same physical address, and therefore are not required to re-register to vote. She said that difference in box numbers could result in recorders invalidating signatures that otherwise would be valid.
What's really needed, Rodriguez said, is for lawmakers to step in and spell out what is and is not required.
Berch conceded the point that existing law is not very clear, suggesting legislative clarification "would be helpful to both candidates and election officials."
The case involves nominating petitions with more than 800 names submitted by state Sen. Albert Hale, D-Window Rock, for another two-year term. More than 500 of those were challenged by Republican Royce Jenkins.
Navajo and Coconino county recorders invalidated any signature with just a post office box, but Apache County officials allowed them if they could verify the person was a registered voter.
