Arizona Republic Column on Arizona No Labels Party Lawsuit Mentions Richard Grayson

Today, Monday, October 23, 2023, the Arizona Republic published an online column by Abe Kwok, "No Labels wants a judge to block some candidates from running. The law may not be on its side," that mentions Richard Grayson as one of the No Labels Party candidates targeted:

No Labels officials rest their argument on a state statute that says: “At a primary election, each political party entitled and intending to make nominations for the ensuing general or special election, if it desires to have the names of its candidates printed on the official ballot at that general or special election, shall nominate its candidates … .”

They interpret the qualifying language “intending to make nominations” and “if it desires to have the names of its candidates printed” to mean the law gives political parties the ultimate say on candidates and whether to hold a primary.

But that statute narrowly relates to the nomination of candidates for printing on an official ballot.

At least one of the two people who filed paperwork, Richard Grayson, is seeking to run as a write-in candidate — that is, forgoing the process of gathering nomination signatures needed to secure his name on the ballot.

Grayson is taking advantage of, as he has done before, Arizona’s rules for parties that have “not qualified for continued representation,” including new political parties. Those rules allow a candidate to win the party nomination with a simple plurality of the vote.

Grayson won one primary race with a mere two votes and another one with 11.

More relevant is an Arizona law related to new political parties: “A new political party may become eligible for recognition and shall be represented by an official party ballot at the next ensuing regular primary election.”

. . .

No Labels’ suit isn’t the first time that Grayson, a lifelong Democrat who admits to simply wanting to sabotage No Labels, has been targeted for removal from running.

The Green Party sued him and other Green write-in primary winners in 2010, as well as the then-Secretary of State Ken Bennett and the 15 county recorders, to keep the Green primary winners off general election ballots.

The party lost.

Grayson welcomes another round of legal clarity.

Either way, he’ll be running as a No Labels party member regardless the outcome: Alaska last month certified him as a candidate for Congress in its open primary election.

A print version of the story appeared on page 4B of the October 25, 2023 Arizona Republic.