An internal dispute has emerged within the Arizona Independent Party following a recent court ruling and an ongoing ballot access challenge between two gubernatorial candidates. The conflict follows a state trial court decision that the party does not have the right to change its name without going through the procedures required to form a new political party. The ruling came in a case involving the Arizona Clean Elections Commission and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and centered on the party’s attempt to change its name from the No Labels Party to the Arizona Independent Party.

The court’s decision stated that if a political party wishes to change its name, it must follow the same process required of a newly formed party, including submitting petitions. The ruling did not address how such a change would affect an existing party’s ballot status if enough voters remained registered under the old name. The decision also did not resolve questions about whether a political party may include the word “independent” in its name, an issue raised by plaintiffs who argued the name could cause voter confusion.

Following the ruling, the Arizona Independent Party announced plans to appeal the decision. The party argues that the ruling conflicts with past instances in which political parties have changed their names and raises concerns related to freedom of association. The Secretary of State is not expected to appeal the ruling.

At the same time, a separate legal challenge has been filed within the party’s gubernatorial primary. One candidate, Teri Hourihan, filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court on April 3 alleging that another candidate, Hugh Lytle, does not have enough valid signatures to qualify for the primary ballot. Reports indicate that Lytle submitted approximately 6,000 signatures, while the requirement to qualify is 1,771 valid signatures. It is not known how many signatures Hourihan submitted. Petition signers must be registered members of the party or voters not registered with any qualified political party.

The lawsuit and the ongoing appeal related to the party’s name have created a series of legal disputes affecting the Arizona Independent Party as it prepares for the upcoming election cycle.