Second Chances measure to change sentencing laws tossed off Arizona ballot

Supporters of an initiative to overhaul Arizona's criminal sentencing laws did not file enough valid petition signatures to earn the measure a spot on the general election ballot, the Secretary of State's Office said Friday.

County election officials across the state reviewed a random sample of petitions from the backers of the Second Chances, Rehabilitation and Public Safety Act but deemed nearly 36% invalid.

At that rate, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs wrote in a letter to proponents, the measure is estimated to fall short of the 237,645 signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.

Proponents believe election officials disqualified valid petition signatures, however. They are challenging the secretary of state's decision, campaign spokeswoman Stacy Pearson said.

The measure is championed by a seemingly unlikely coalition of activists on the left and right of the political spectrum who see the state's high rate of incarceration: as a civil rights issue; as contrary to the idea of limited government; as a moral quandary; or all of the above.

The proposed initiative would give judges more discretion in sentencing for some cases. And it would allow people serving time in prison to earn release after spending half their sentence behind bars if their crimes were deemed nondangerous and they participated in rehabilitation programs, classes and other opportunities.

Those who commit violent crimes, including crimes against children, would not be eligible.

The proposal is opposed by prosecutors and some advocates for the victims of violent crime, who argue the measure could allow the early release of people serving time for serious and dangerous offenses.

A group of opponents, including outgoing Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall, challenged the measure in court. They argued the 100-word summary of the measure that appeared on petitions was misleading by using the term "nondangerous," which could be interpreted in different ways by different voters.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge rejected that argument earlier this month, but opponents of the measure have filed an appeal.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of State's Office had sent a random sample of about 16,000 petition signatures to county election officials as part of its usual verification process.

Proponents said they submitted 397,291 signatures to get the measure on the ballot — far more than required.

Under the state's process, county recorders needed to determine that nearly 12,000 of those signatures were valid.

Officials said only 10,849 signatures were valid, however.

At that rate, the Secretary of State's Office estimates that only 216,957 signatures are valid, several thousand shy of the minimum.

The verification process involves not only checking the names and information of signers against voter registration records but also ensuring that the signatures on the petition match the signatures on file.

The campaign has raised concerns that some signatures may have been subjectively discarded, Pearson said.

The measure is one of four proposed for the November ballot. Other proposed initiatives would legalize the recreational use of marijuana, raise pay for health care workers and increase taxes on higher income tax filers to boost funding for public schools.

Contact Andrew Oxford at andrew.oxford@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @andrewboxford.