Oral Arguments Set Regarding Removing Prop. 200 From Ballot

Oral arguments are scheduled for Aug. 25 in a lawsuit aiming to remove Prop. 200 from the general election ballot. The case will be argued before Judge Mark W. Armstrong of the Maricopa County Superior Court. Prop. 200 would prohibit illegal immigrants from registering to vote and from receiving state benefits not mandated by federal law. Anticipating that the losing side in the lawsuit will seek an appeal, Judge Armstrong said in a hearing Aug. 17 that he plans to make a decision in the case within three weeks. That would give the Arizona Supreme Court about the same amount of time to consider any appeal, the judge said, making it likely the high court could rule before early voting in the general election begins on Sept. 30. The suit was at the urging of a service-workers union plaintiffs on behalf of Pam and Lloyd Singer, two Maricopa County residents who are registered voters. The suit has two central complaints: ? The initiative description on many if not all of the signature sheets is incomplete and inaccurate; ? The secretary of state failed to perform what the petitioners say is her duty to verify that circulator affidavits were completed by persons qualified to be registered voters [more ]