Arizona
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In Arizona, Connerly’s ACRI (Arizona Civil Rights Initiative) was decertified by Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer on August 21, 2008. Connerly’s initiative campaign had filed 334,658 signatures with the Secretary of State, but over 40% of those signatures were invalid. That number did not include the tens of thousands of signatures challenged in a lawsuit filed by Protect Arizona’s Freedom on August 18, 2008.
Protect Arizona’s Freedom is a coalition that was formed to support affirmative action and oppose Connerly’s Initiative. They formed a round-the-clock operation that had nearly 1,000 volunteers reviewing the submitted signatures. This great effort culminated in the lawsuit they filed in August and ultimately in the decertification of the Connerly initiative.
BAMN, a Michigan-based activist group, filed a lawsuit on June 30, 2008, challenging ACRI signature-gathering tactics as deceptive.
A legislative proposal for a constitutional amendment was also introduced as an alternative mechanism to get the initiative on the ballot. This initiative, however, was defeated in the Arizona House of Representatives.
Arizona Coalition Members
Protect Arizona’s Freedom
Protect Arizona’s Freedom Coalition Members
Coordinator: Kyrsten Sinema
Arizona News and Publications
Group Abandons Lawsuit over Affirmative Action – Deseret News – August 31, 2008
Proposition 104 Backers Prepare for Last Battle - Arizona Daily Sun – August 28, 2008
Initiative on Affirmative Action Off Ballot – azcentral.com – August 21, 2008
Affirmative Action Ban Likely Stripped from Arizona Ballot – The Huffington Post – August 19, 2008
Arizona Democrats Decry McCain Support of Connerly Initiative – PolitickerAZ.com – July 29, 2008
Anti-Connerly Forces Vow to Fight On – PolitickerAZ.com – July 7, 2008
Affirmative Action Ban Makes Ballot – azcentral.com – July 3, 2008
Suit Filed Against Initiative to End Affirmative Action – Arizona Daily Sun – July 1, 2008
Arizona Ground Zero in Anti-Affirmative Action Group’s Fight - The Arizona Republic - May 11, 2008
Civil Rights Measure May Be Adrift - The Arizona Republic - April 20, 2008
On March 21, 2008, the Arizona State Bar Board of Governors voted to formally oppose Connerly’s initiative.
