Ross v. Bennett

In Ross v. Bennett, 228 Ariz. 174, 265 P.3d 356 (2011), the court rejected the argument that Brousseau required the trial court to strike signature sheets "because the county recorder could not certify individual signatures on them." Ross, 228 Ariz. 174,34, 265 P.2d at 362. The court clarified that omissions and irregularities did not require an entire signature sheet to be discarded and that Brousseau did not "stand for the proposition that the Court should disqualify all petitions with affidavits based on any false information." Ross, 228 Ariz. 174,36, 265 P.3d at 363. Instead, the court explained, although the signature sheets "may contain some signatures from electors who are not qualified to vote," that did not mean "the circulator's oath was itself fraudulent" because there was no evidence the circulators were aware the electors were not qualified and "fraud requires an element of knowledge--a guilty mental state." Id.37.