Republican candidate to appear on ballot after Maricopa County case settles

(The Center Square)— A Republican candidate in Arizona’s Legislative District 29 will now appear on the ballot after the Arizona Republican Party came to an agreement with Maricopa County on Tuesday.

Precinct committeemen in the district selected James Taylor to appear on the ballot in replacement of Rep. Austin Smith, who is not running for re-election amid a possible criminal investigation for alleged forging his nominating petition signatures. However, the Secretary of State’s office said they missed the May 13 deadline for Taylor’s name to be on the printed ballot, so he would be a write-in candidate for the July 30 Republican primary. The committee decided on Taylor on May 16.

The county had also taken issue with the request to have his name on the ballot, as ballots had already begun printing, KJZZ reported. Still, the county said they were able to reach an agreement because of a separate ballot error involving a Paradise Valley Town Council race.

“Maricopa County’s ballot proofing and printing deadline remains May 13. While going through the proofing and printing process as outlined by statute, Maricopa County Elections identified that a withdrawn candidate had been included in a ballot proof,” a county spokesperson said in a statement. “The individual inadvertently included on the proof had withdrawn prior to the May 13 deadline for Paradise Valley Town Council. The identification of this withdrawn candidate on Maricopa County’s ballot means Maricopa County must restart the proofing and printing process.”

“With the printing process now restarting, Maricopa County Elections has asked the Secretary of State’s Office to accept Mr. Taylor as a candidate so he may be added to Maricopa County’s Republican ballot for State Representative for LD29 pending the court vacating the temporary restraining order,” the statement continued.

The state party touted the settlement in Maricopa County Superior Court as a legal victory.

“Once again, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has been forced to comply with the law,” the party stated. “This morning, the court granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against Maricopa County preventing ballots from being printed without James Taylor’s inclusion. SOS Fontes subsequently moved forward with accepting the rightful filing for the LD29 ballot issue.”

“This decision is a victory for election integrity and a clear message that no one is above the law,” the party added.

The Secretary of State’s office confirmed with The Center Square on Wednesday morning that Taylor’s “candidate nomination form and candidate financial disclosure form” was received and he’s now marked down as a “nominated” candidate as opposed to a write-in one. Amy Heusted is still marked as a write-in candidate for the race, according to the office’s website.