Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2001 21:54:03 -0700
From: weavermt@YAHOO.COM (Tim Weaver)
Subject: Glendale Fights Fair Elections
To: AZRKBA@asu.edu


For Immediate Release

August 20, 2001

Glendale Fights Fair Elections

In an affirmation of the citizens' right of initiative
and upholding eighty-seven years of Arizona case law,
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Roger W. Kaufman
granted a special action relief against the City of
Glendale, which refused to transmit petition
signatures to the County recorder as required by law.

The plaintiff, Glendale resident Michael Weaver, has
gathered over 3,500 signatures to place on the ballot
an initiative requiring manual counting of election
ballots within Glendale, three times the number of
signatures necessary.  Mr. Weaver, who has lived in
Glendale nearly nine years, seeks to return confidence
in a voting system that is open to abuse and fraud.

"We saw what happened in Florida and what happened
here in Glendale with the Wal-Mart election," said Mr.
Weaver.  "People are disenfranchised and have no faith
in the systemotherwise how do you explain the low
voter turnouts?  Having the official votes counted
manually makes the count easily verifiable, unlike
closed, proprietary electronic vote-counting machines.
 As one who works with computers everyday, I
understand the type of stuff that can be done with
computer programming."

By refusing to transmit the signatures, Mr. Weaver
contended the City Clerk crossed her limit of
authority by making a decision based on the substance
of the initiative, contrary to case law dating back to
the early days of statehood.  The Constitutionality of
the initiative was the City's initial objection to the
proposal.

Since 1914, however, Arizona courts have held that
initiative proposals are not open to adjudication
before they've been voted on, and passed, by the
electorate.

"Glendale tried to say that because they believed the
initiative was unconstitutional, they had the right to
refuse to follow the law," Mr. Weaver continued.  "We
submitted case after case showing where they had no
authority to make such a ruling.  That was for the
court to decide, not a city bureaucrat."

At the hearing before Judge Kaufman on August 10,
2000, the city changed their argument.

"After reading my brief, they changed their objection
once we got to court," said Mr. Weaver

The city's new argument was that the initiative was
procedurally defective.  Judge Kaufman ruled
otherwise.

"Glendale claimed the initiative would not enact any
legislation," said Mr. Weaver.  "Well, I think a
change to the City Charter requiring Glendale to
manually count all ballots certainly does enact
legislation.  Judge Kaufman agreed and ordered the
city to transmit the petitions and place the
initiative on the ballot."

The city is requested 15 business days to comply.  Mr.
Weaver thinks they should have to comply immediately.

"This is something they should have had done already.
The only reason it is due to the city's refusal.  I
think they should be ordered to trasmit the
signatures within a week."

"The City Clerk's actions were a violation of the
separation of powers provision of the US and Arizona
Constitution, and the clerk had no authority to do
what she did.  The judge agreed."

Mr. Weaver, however, has no illusions about this being
a sure thing.

"I believe the cities and county election officials
are scared of the implications of my initiative.
Otherwise, how do you explain the presence of
non-Glendale city and county election officials at the
hearing?  I certainly didn't call them.  It will be
interesting to see how many signatures they decide to
challenge."

"We have a long way to go before this ever gets on the
ballot.  What is interesting is that if this does make
it to the people for a vote, it will be subject to the
very electronic voting machines I distrust. How's that
for irony?"

For further information contact:
Michael Weaver
602-402-7385