On November 28, the Arizona Clean Elections Commission voted to sue the Arizona Secretary of State to prevent him from letting the No Labels Party change its name to the Arizona Independent Party. The Commission is a state agency, formed in 1998 to regulate the state’s public funding of campaigns program. The vote was 4-1.

The Commission thinks that letting any party have the word “independent” in its name will cause voter confusion. At the meeting, the Commission was told that Arizona let the American Independent Party on the ballot in 1968 and 1972. The attorney for the Commission said he didn’t think that is true, but a simple look at the 1968 and 1972 election returns show that it is true.

The Commission has two Republicans, two independents, and one Democrat. The Commissioner who voted against the motion to sue is the Democratic member, Steve Titla.

As noted earlier, one California gubernatorial candidate is suing another candidate because the other candidate has been campaigning while wearing his sheriff’s uniform. Cloobeck v Bianco, Riverside County Superior Court, cvri2505068.

But on November 24, the plaintiff, Stephen Cloobeck, withdrew from the gubernatorial race. That probably means that his lawsuit will be dismissed on standing grounds. Cloobeck will not be able to show that he is being harmed by Chad Bianco’s tendency to wear his uniform while campaigning.

The Arizona Clean Elections Commission, which was created to administer the state’s public funding program, is complaining about the Secretary of State’s decision to let the No Labels Party change its name to the Arizona Independent Party. See this story. The Commission doesn’t dispute the idea that a party can change its name. But the Commission doesn’t like the party’s new name, and says putting “Independent” in the name of any party will cause voter confusion.

At some time or other, 47 states have allowed parties on the ballot which had “independent” or “independence” as their name, or as part of their name. The Independence Party of 1908 was on the ballot in almost all states, and the American Independent Party was on the ballot in many states in 1968, including Arizona.