Arizona: Benson recall dropped after numerous problems

The recall attempt against Benson City Councilman Ron Brooks has been dropped after allegations of circulator fraud. The whole event is worth a gander.

The petitions against Brooks had been certified after petitioners handed in 229 valid signatures (they needed 224). Brooks managed to knock out the signatures because a number of the petition gatherers did not live in Benson. However, the City Clerk was told by the Secretary of State that was fine. Also, the manager of the recall was a city employee, causing more problems. Additionally:

In the lawsuit, Brooks is alleging that organizers had not formed a political committee, which is part of the recall process under state law, when they failed to present notarized signatures of the committee chair and treasurer in the Statements of Organization. “City officials admitted there is state law that does require such notarized signatures and also admitted that the required notarizations were missing from the recall documents that had been submitted,” said Brooks.