Maricopa County Superior Judge Gregory Como ruled on Monday that Secretary of State Adrian Fontes lacked legal authority to permit the No Labels Party to change its name to the Arizona Independent Party and that state law has no procedure for parties to change their names.
The lawsuit was brought by the Arizona Democratic Party, the Republican National Committee, the Republican Party of Arizona, and the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission.
Fontes had claimed that since the Arizona Revised Statutes do not address the issue of political parties changing their names, he had the authority to approve a name change.
The judge disagreed. In his ruling, the judge found that Fontes exceeded his authority by allowing the name change, calling it a “bait and switch.” The judge wrote:
“Permitting a political party to change its name without going through the statutory signature-gathering process is not a ministerial act by the Secretary. The signature-gathering process serves important policy purposes. It ensures that a party appearing on the ballot has a meaningful level of support among Arizona voters. Relatedly, it prevents a plethora of parties with minimal or no support from appearing on the ballot. When a person signs a petition on behalf of an aspiring party, it is reasonable to infer that they are largely motivated by how the party describes itself, i.e., the party’s name. Would the same 41,000 people who signed petitions to recognize the No Labels Party have signed to support the “Arizona Nazi Party” or the “Arizona Anarchists”?
By approving a party’s requested name change, without it obtaining the necessary signatures for party recognition, the Secretary permits a political bait and switch. A party can gather signatures using an innocuous sounding name and then change it to something completely different. If the Secretary is to have such power, it must be prescribed by the Arizona Constitution or state statutes. It is not.”
Fontes announced on X.com that he would not appeal the ruling.
That didn’t stop Republican Party of Arizona (AZGOP) Chairman Sergio Arellano from calling out Fontes for his failure.
“The Republican Party of Arizona is grateful for the judge’s ruling in the matter before him, finding Secretary of State Adrian Fontes exceeded his authority and allowed a fraudulent party to appear on the ballot. The judge noted that even Fontes admitted this issue would cause confusion for the voters, but Fontes disregarded that concern and the obvious truth, and proceeded to allow them to continue the charade,” said Arellano in a press release.
“Secretary Fontes announced he will not appeal this ruling. That is wise, as he has already cost taxpayers too much money, and his effort to sow confusion with this stunt, allowing the No Labels Party to unilaterally change their name to the Arizona Independent Party, has further eroded trust in our election officials at a time when that trust is already at an all-time low,” continued Arellano.
“We are pleased that Secretary Fontes recognizes that the voters are a now a priority for him. They have always been a priority for Republicans, and we welcome all of them into our very big tent to usher conservative candidates into office on every level of government this November,” concluded Arellano.
In December 2025, the AZGOP Party announced its legal challenge of Fontes’ decision to allow the No Labels Party to rename itself the “Arizona Independent Party,” a move that the Party said at the time was “inappropriate and risks widespread voter confusion and disenfranchisement.”
Voters who signed petitions in 2023 did so to recognize the No Labels Party, a party explicitly marketed around the idea of having no labels. They did not sign petitions to create an “Independent Party,” nor were they informed that their support could later be repurposed to form a brand-new party with a different name.
The AZGOP emphasized that Arizona voters who register as “Independent” expect to receive either a Republican or Democratic primary ballot under Arizona’s open primary system. Creating a party literally named the “Independent Party” blurs that distinction and risks voters being placed into the wrong category, potentially depriving them of the ballot they intended to fill out.
The Arizona Clean Elections Commission lawsuit sought to block the name change, declare the Secretary’s action unlawful and void, and reaffirm that political parties must follow the same statutory process required of every other party seeking ballot access in Arizona.
Arizona Independent Party Chair Paul Johnson reportedly will appeal the ruling.
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