Arizona court urges initiatives overhaul

PHOENIX, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The Arizona Supreme Court says the legislature needs to look at changes in the state's ballot initiative system to maintain its integrity.

The Arizona Republic said Wednesday Justice Andrew Hurwitz wrote in an opinion released Tuesday the initiative process has become too large and unwieldy for election officials who don't have the time to verify measures for the ballot.

Hurwitz called for a "thorough legislative re-examination" of the system, the Republic said.

The opinion was contained in a decision issued in August regarding a proposed sales-tax increase that was disqualified from the ballot due to a lack of verified signatures.

The opinion said the increased number of petition signatures required for each initiative plus the growing number of initiatives being proposed was overwhelming elections agencies.