Maricopa County Judge Rules Third-Party Candidate Did Not Meet Required Qualifications in Sheriff Race

The stage is officially set for a November Penzone v. Arpaio showdown following Maricopa County Superior Judge David Gass’ ruling this week that last-minute third-party spoiler candidate Chad Lisk did not submit the minimum number signatures required to qualify for the ballot.

Last week, attorneys filed a complaint in Maricopa County Superior Court challenging nearly 600 signatures included in the nominating petitions filed by Lisk, a Libertarian who entered the sheriff’s race at the final hour.

The complaint challenged hundreds of invalid signatures, including 158 signatures of voters who were registered to a party other than Libertarian — a violation of state law. Judge Gass upheld the challenge, which was verified by the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office. The Recorder’s Office confirmed 138 signatures Lisk submitted were from registered Democrats, Republicans or Green Party voters. Lisk needed 1,881 signatures to qualify and submitted 1,750 per the judge’s ruling.

The challenge also highlighted a potential connection between the Arpaio for Sheriff campaign and the Lisk campaign, which began in earnest two days after Paul Penzone announced his candidacy.

Penzone said, “This is another step on the path to restore integrity to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. It’s imperative that we start with a ballot that includes legitimate, qualified candidates.”