'They were scared': Patriot Party knocks GOP after failing to qualify for Arizona ballot

The election-denying Patriot Party of Arizona missed its shot to become a recognized political party in the state in 2024.

Random sampling showed the group turned in about 3,000 fewer valid voter signatures than required, according to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office.

John Fillmore, a former state lawmaker from Apache Junction who became leader of the group earlier this year, had hoped to see the Patriot Party of Arizona field federal, statewide or legislative candidates if it became the state's fifth officially recognized party. Besides the Republican and Democratic parties, Arizona also currently recognizes the Libertarian Party and No Labels Party.

Fillmore and other members of the group advocate conservative values with an emphasis on scrapping the current voting system. They want a new process in which all voting takes place on Election Day and the results are counted by hand.

"We're extremely disappointed," he said, adding that he was still proud of the work by the group's volunteers. "It was close."

He submitted 37,277 signatures on Oct. 24 to the state, which were then sent to Arizona counties for random sampling. A 20% sample showed a validity rate of only 85.76%, or 31,018 valid signatures, according to a statement on Monday by Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. The group needed at least a 91.67% validity rate, or 34,127 valid signatures, to make the 2024 ballot.

The Arizona Republican Party complained in a public statement last week that Fontes' office didn't notify other parties about Fillmore's submittal when it happened, denying them and representatives of the other parties the chance to observe the submission and scrutinize the signatures themselves. The GOP also accused Fontes' office of slow-walking a records request for the petitions, delaying the party's ability to double-check them.

Fillmore said he views the Republican Party's complaints as "intimidation."

"It's symptomatic of the insecurity and manipulation of the party over the people," he said. "Republicans don't like the conservatives. They were scared of the competition."

Jeff DeWit, state GOP party chair, compared the process to how the Secretary of State's Office handled No Labels' filing in March, accusing Fontes, a Democrat, of playing favorites.

Democratic Party officials have opposed No Labels as a party over fears that its plan to run a presidential candidate next year will split Democratic votes for President Joe Biden, giving a boost to the Republican nominee - who may be former President Donald Trump. If it had become an official party, Patriot Party of Arizona candidates could have a similar vote-siphoning effect for Republicans.

An Arizona Democratic Party representative acknowledged last week that they, like the GOP, had been invited to observe No Labels' filing, but not the Patriot Party of Arizona.

Ronna McDaniel, Republican National Committee chairwoman, told Fox News Digital last week that a review of samples obtained by the Patriot Party of Arizona showed it would fall short and that Fontes would be negligent if he certified the group.

Fontes' office responded to the GOP's complaints with a promise to make the process more transparent by including observers in future filings.

"After receiving community input, we have updated the process to include observers from other political parties," Fontes' office said last week. "While this is not a statutory obligation, the Secretary values transparency and is responsive to constructive feedback.”

The state Republican Party released a statement on Monday praising a 50-volunteer team for reviewing the 37,000 submitted signatures "until the early hours of the morning" after they were received.

"This achievement underscores the AZGOP's commitment to election integrity," the statement said. The state GOP didn't address Fontes' promise for more transparency.

Fillmore said he will decide if he wants to challenge the finding. One potential challenge: Fontes' office removed voters who are registered only to participate in federal races from the filings before conducting the random sample, Fillmore said.

Patriot Party members are asking him to fight the decision, but that would require hiring a lawyer and filing a lawsuit, which Fillmore said he might have to fund personally given the group's low budget.

One option, he said, would be to "regroup" within the Republican Party and "become a nightmare for Republicans."

The Patriot Party of Arizona has already been a divisive force for the GOP. Fillmore blames establishment Republicans for failing to support Kari Lake for governor.

He doesn't have anything good to say about the Democratic secretary of state, either. Fillmore called Fontes' promise to be more transparent "horses---," noting Fontes notified the news media of the sample count before contacting him or his group.

Reach the reporter at rstern@arizonarepublic.com or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Secretary of State: Patriot Party of AZ missed signature threshold