A federal judge in Arizona on Tuesday ruled that the third-party group No Labels can block people running for state office from attaching their name to the party’s banner without approval.
Judge John Tuchi ruled that No Labels is protected by the First Amendment and can determine whom it wants to associate with. However, critics of the ruling have countered that other parties cannot dictate who runs using their names and that it could set a dangerous precedent.
“This current decision will disenfranchise almost 19,000 registered Arizona voters, and if it stands, it could potentially derail the entire candidate nomination process,” Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said in a statement.
The ruling comes as the party attempts to get itself on the ballot in every state and Washington, D.C., but it has only succeeded in around 11 states so far.
Leaders of No Labels welcomed the ruling, claiming it protects their “constitutional rights.”
“Our ballot line cannot be hijacked. Our movement will not be stopped,” Benjamin Chavis Jr., a No Labels national co-chairman, and former Democratic Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, the group’s director of ballot integrity, told the Associated Press in a statement.
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Arizona is expected to be one of the closest battleground states in November. President Joe Biden barely won the state in 2020 by just 11,000 votes. Supporters of the president are concerned that the group would siphon votes away from Biden and give former President Donald Trump a return to the White House.
Fontes, who has been vocally critical of No Labels, said he plans to appeal the decision.
