The Arizona Democratic Party is suing to stop a third-party organization from appearing on the state's presidential ballot in the 2024 election.
State Democrats are reportedly planning on filing a lawsuit against Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, targeting No Labels, a centrist group to provide voters with a non-extreme "spoiler" presidential option in the race.
The lawsuit reflects a concern among Democrats that another candidate could swing in and ruin the chances of President Joe Biden serving a second term and kicking the Left out of the Senate.
The lawsuit claims Fontes of violating state laws when accepting No Labels' signature petitions to receive ballot access. Democrats say affidavits were signed and approved before the minimum number of petitions were gathered, arguing "the petitions should be considered false and the petitions invalid."
Morgan Dick, the spokeswoman for the Arizona Democratic Party, told the Washington Post that No Labels is a shady organization, claiming they are not following party rules.
"No Labels is not following the rules for political party recognition while attempting to be placed on the ballot alongside actual, functioning political parties who do," Dick said. "Arizonans deserve better, and voters deserve to know who is behind this shadowy organization and what potentially nefarious agenda they are pushing."
In response, the chief strategist for No Labels, Ryan Clancy, condemned the Democrat's lawsuit, calling it hypocritical.
"This undemocratic and unscrupulous lawsuit is a disgrace," Clancy said. "Next time you hear this crowd talking about protecting democracy, remember what they are doing is protecting their turf."
No Labels have already qualified for ballots in Arizona, Oregon, Alaska, and Colorado. It claims its "unity ticket" would muster support "equally" from Republican and Democrat voters. The organization believes a moderate candidate could win the presidency by securing electoral votes from purple and swing states.
"At some point in the future, it could become clear that the public doesn't want an independent ticket or that there is no path for one to win. Or we could find that there are no candidates with broad appeal or the courage to take on this challenge. If that happens, No Labels will not offer our ballot line to any presidential candidate," the group said in a statement.