No Labels can block candidates from running for most offices in Arizona, judge rules

In a win for No Labels, the group preparing a third-party presidential effort, U.S. District Court Judge John Tuchi has blocked Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes from recognizing candidates who want to run using the group’s ballot line, besides its presidential unity ticket, without approval.

Tuchi’s ruling, issued Tuesday, ensures that the No Labels operation remains in control of its operation and is allowed to keep its finances shrouded.

The group’s effort has been faced with criticism. Former President Trump’s critics warn that the group’s push for a unity ticket will assist Trump in his quest to reclaim the White House, arguing it would peel away votes that would go to President Biden.

No Labels officials welcomed the ruling, which in their view, protected their “constitutional rights.”

“Our ballot line cannot be hijacked. Our movement will not be stopped,” Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., a No Labels national co-chair, said in a statement, according to The Associated Press. 

Fontes slammed the ruling, which he intends to appeal. 

“This current decision will disenfranchise almost 19,000 registered Arizona voters, and if it stands, it could potentially derail the entire candidate nomination process,” Fontes said.

The judge decided that No Labels has the First Amendment right to determine whom it wants to have running under its label. 

No Lables has secured ballot access in 13 states and hopes to be on ballots in all 50 come Election Day. Its critics want more transparency around No Labels’s donors, whom the organization has yet to name.

Tuchi’s ruling can assist No Labels in its quest to not file campaign finance disclosure under the state’s law because it does not prop up state office candidates.