A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has ruled that Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ proposed ballot language for Proposition 145 violates Arizona law, blocking Fontes from using the language on the November ballot.
The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by Arizona House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R-LD29) and Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14), who challenged the ballot language for the proposed constitutional amendment concerning Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) for children of military families.
Montenegro and Petersen alleged that Fontes’ proposed language improperly characterized Proposition 145 by informing voters that approving the measure would also nullify Proposition 212, a separate ballot initiative that would make changes to Arizona’s ESA program.
Petersen and Montenegro sought an injunction preventing Fontes from using the proposed descriptive title and “yes/no” language on the official ballot.
Fontes’ proposed language stated that a “yes” vote would amend the Arizona Constitution to “nullify Proposition 212, which imposes spending and income limits” on ESAs.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge David McDowell ruled that the language did not comply with A.R.S. § 19-125(D), which requires ballot descriptions to explain the effect a measure would have on existing law.
“The reference to Proposition 212 in the title and the ‘yes/no’ language is not a reference to existing law,” McDowell wrote in his ruling.
Because Proposition 212 is a proposed initiative that voters will consider in November, rather than an existing law, McDowell determined that Fontes could not include a reference to its potential nullification in the official ballot language for Proposition 145.
The court therefore enjoined the Secretary of State from using the proposed title and “yes/no” language for Proposition 145 on the official ballot.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Republican leaders of the Arizona legislature are suing Secretary of State Adrian Fontes for allegedly misrepresenting a ballot measure to preserve school choice funding for military families.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14), the Republican nominee for attorney general, and House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R-LD29) sued Fontes to prevent the ballot measure language from going to voters.
The 66-page verified complaint accused Fontes of drafting ballot language that intentionally undermines the constitutional amendment, Proposition 145, in order to give a leg up to a competing ballot proposition to end the universality of the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program.
The language for Prop. 145’s descriptive title reads:
“Would nullify Proposition 212 (below) if voters enact it this election; prohibits the state from sweeping funds from certain state-run scholarship accounts if the student’s parent has provided certain active-duty military service; nullifies all laws that would sweep any such funds, including unrelated provisions of those laws.”
The yes/no language reads:
“A ‘yes” vote shall have the effect of amending the Arizona Constitution to: (1) nullify Proposition 212, which imposes spending and income limits on the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, if the people enact that Proposition during this election; (2) prohibit the state from sweeping funds from certain state-run scholarship accounts if the student’s parent has provided certain active-duty military service; and (3) nullify all parts of any law that would sweep any such funds, including unrelated provisions of those laws, applying retroactively to all laws enacted on or after November 1, 2026.
A ‘no’ vote shall have the effect of maintaining current constitutional provisions related to scholarship accounts and allowing Proposition 212 to go into effect if voters enact it this election.”
According to the lawmakers, Fontes’ Prop. 145 ballot language allegedly skimped on and buried details of how the proposed constitutional amendment would preserve military families’ school choice funding. Much of the language, they say, used “partisan, argumentative framing” of Prop. 145 as a direct nullification of Proposition 212, or the Protect Education Act.
Prop. 212 seeks to end the ability for all Arizona students to enter the ESA program by imposing an income cap. It would also require approved curriculum for the release of ESA funds, degrees and background checks for ESA-funded tutors, accreditation or administration of state standardized tests for ESA-funded schools, and revocation of unspent ESA funds for public school usage.
The lawmakers argued that the “impermissibly misleading” ballot language focused more on Prop. 145’s potential future impacts on Prop. 212, in conflict with Arizona law, rather than summarizing the essential change in existing law. They claimed the ballot language is biased, argumentative, and fails to state the measure’s impact on existing law.
Attorney General Kris Mayes signed off on the ballot language.
Montenegro accused Fontes of “play[ing] political games” at the expense of military families.
“Instead of giving voters a fair description, Fontes turned the Secretary of State’s Office into a platform for Democrats’ anti-school-choice talking points,” said Montenegro. “Military families deserve better. I’ll see him in court.”
Adrian Fontes claims to support our veterans, yet he is using official ballot language to play political games with the children of military families. Prop. 145 safeguards their scholarship funds and protects school choice. Instead of giving voters a fair description, Fontes…
The teachers’ unions and their allies at Save Our Schools (SOS) have proven time and time again that they will do anything to kill universal school choice in Arizona.
They’ve fought expansion of the program. They’ve pushed to cap it. They’ve worked with activist reporters in the legacy media with ties to the Red for Ed teachers’ union to push false claims about it. And we all witnessed it four years ago when they made their not-so-triumphant proclamation that they had enough signatures to repeal the program—only to discover they had miscounted by more than 50,000 signatures.
But their latest attempt to overturn the program is their lowest yet.
Earlier this month, the teachers’ unions and SOS announced they had submitted more than 420,000 signatures for a ballot initiative that would end the universal eligibility of Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) program.
Given their track record, the Arizona Free Enterprise Club worked closely with the Goldwater Institute and other school choice advocates to review the petitions. What we found was far more disturbing than another failed signature count.
Dozens of Convicted Felons—Including Registered Sex Offenders—Hired to Collect Signatures
The teachers’ unions and SOS want Arizonans to believe that their “Protect Education Act” campaign is a grassroots effort led by concerned parents and educators. But they made a very different choice when it came time to build their campaign…
Former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey is blasting the anti-ESA ballot measure, which is currently facing a legal challenge from the Arizona Free Enterprise Club and the Goldwater Institute. Under Ducey’s leadership, Arizona became the nation’s leader in school choice.
The Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit earlier this week, challenging the validity of signatures submitted for the proposed “Protection Education, Accountability Now Act,” a ballot initiative that would place new restrictions on Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship (ESA) program.
According to the lawsuit, the initiative required 255,949 valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot but allegedly submitted enough invalid signatures to fall below that threshold. It contends that tens of thousands of petition signatures are subject to disqualification and raises concerns about the campaign’s signature-gathering process.
Goldwater claimed that more than 75% of the signatures were collected by paid circulators rather than volunteers and questioned whether some petition circulators met legal standards.
Out-of-state special interests are spending millions to buy their way onto Arizona's ballot. Today, Goldwater filed suit challenging the invalid signatures submitted for this anti-school choice measure. We will keep fighting to defend the rights of Arizona families and protect…
— Goldwater Institute (@GoldwaterInst) July 20, 2026
Ducey criticized the proposed initiative, arguing that it would eliminate educational options for families participating in the ESA program.
“Once again, we are reminded how little these out-of-state unions care about Arizona students and their parents,” stated Ducey. “This measure would strip tens of thousands of Arizona families of educational choices they have made for their children, forcing students out of the schools that are serving them well and back into schools they chose to leave. That is unacceptable, and we will vigorously challenge this measure at every possible step.”
Arizona’s ESA program currently serves more than 100,000 students, allowing eligible families to use state education funds for private school tuition, homeschooling expenses, and other approved educational costs.
Supporters of the program argue it expands educational opportunities and parental choice, while opponents have raised concerns about its cost and oversight.
The Goldwater Institute alleged that the ballot initiative is backed by out-of-state special interest groups seeking to limit Arizona’s school choice program.
“This is a shameless attack on Arizona’s parents, funded by an out-of-state union,” said Victor Riches, President and CEO of the Goldwater Institute. “They’re trying to game the system by turning in tens of thousands of invalid signatures in an effort to destroy the most successful school choice program in the country. This won’t happen on our watch.”
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club announced that it joined the legal challenge in support of the Goldwater Institute’s lawsuit. Greg Blackie of the organization will serve as a plaintiff in the case.
They Claim to Protect Children. Look Who They Hired!!
Arizona Free Enterprise Club @azfec Joins Legal Challenge to Union-Backed Anti-ESA Initiative. Save Our Schools and the teachers unions claim their anti-ESA campaign is about protecting children.
— Arizona Free Enterprise Club (@azfec) July 21, 2026
According to the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, it worked alongside the Goldwater Institute and other school choice advocates to review petition signatures and identify what they describe as “serious irregularities”.
The organization said the complaint also raises concerns about individuals hired to circulate petitions, including allegations involving circulators with criminal histories.
Arizona Free Enterprise Club President Scot Mussi released a statement, saying election laws should be enforced equally for all ballot initiatives.
“Save Our Schools and the teachers unions have spent years accusing ESA families of fraud and demanding greater scrutiny of parents, said Mussi. “Now, their own campaign is facing serious questions about the people they hired to gather signatures. Arizona’s election laws must be fully enforced. If this campaign failed to collect enough lawful and valid signatures, it must not qualify for the ballot.”
The challenged initiative is backed by Save Our Schools Arizona, the Arizona Education Association, and other organizations that have, for years, supported additional limits on ESA eligibility.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A teachers’ union-backed initiative to end Arizona’s universal school choice program relied on a variety of violent felons to collect signatures in violation of state law.
In what some critics have called a twist of irony, the initiative allegedly failed to conduct background checks on those gathering signatures for a reform that would require background checks for providers within the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program.
An amended complaint filed by the Goldwater Institute this week identified nearly 28,000 signatures collected by multiple felons, including a child predator, kidnapper, human trafficker, meth dealer, and killer.
In all, the Goldwater Institute estimated that these signatures, combined with all other invalid signatures, would render the petition ineligible for the November ballot. The Protect Education Act ballot initiative would need about 256,000 signatures at minimum to qualify.
One of the signature gatherers was Jess Redhorse, Jr., convicted of sexual abuse of a minor. According to a mandatory notice issued by the Flagstaff Police Department, Redhorse was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor in 2015 and released in October 2017 as a Level Two sex offender. Level Two signifies intermediate risk to the community. Redhorse’s victim was a 14-year-old female.
Redhorse is not listed on Arizona’s sex offender registry.
Per the Goldwater Institute complaint, Redhorse gathered more than 600 signatures for the petition.
Save Our Schools and the teachers unions say they are fighting to “protect” Arizona’s children.@NEAToday@ArizonaEA@arizona_sos
This is who their campaign trusted to collect signatures.
According to the verified complaint filed by the Goldwater Institute, Jess Redhorse Jr.… pic.twitter.com/NUecaSieoa
— Arizona Free Enterprise Club (@azfec) July 22, 2026
Other signature gatherers had violent felony-level criminal pasts as well according to the Goldwater Institute:
Dwight Perkins, Jr., was convicted of aggravated assault in Arizona and cocaine dealing in Illinois. Perkins gathered nearly 3,400 signatures.
Aaron Soto and Jose Roberto Valencia Toscano were convicted of trafficking illegal aliens for profit in Arizona. Soto gathered more than 3,100 signatures and Toscano gathered nearly 1,800 signatures.
According to a complaint filed with the Arizona District Court in 2023, Valencia Toscano trafficked illegal aliens using an unregistered vehicle in March 2023.
Freddie Wilkerson, Jr., was convicted of conspiracy to sell or transport marijuana in Arizona. Wilkerson gathered more than 2,900 signatures.
Alvin Harrison, Jr., was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Nevada. Harrison gathered nearly 2,700 signatures.
News reports state that Harrison was convicted of manslaughter in the case of a slain security guard, Jose Parra. It appeared that Harrison robbed the man after he killed him, taking his watch and wedding ring.
Melvin Alston was convicted of attempted manslaughter in New York. Alston was included in the amended complaint but not included in the original complaint.
Mark Trusiak, Sr., was convicted on a drug paraphernalia-related felony in Arizona. Trusiak gathered more than 2,000 signatures.
Adam Lopez Milligan was convicted of assault, kidnapping, and weapons misconduct in Arizona. Milligan gathered more than 1,100 signatures.
Kisha Antoinetta Christian was convicted of importing methamphetamines in Arizona. Christian gathered more than 50 signatures. Christian was also convicted of trafficking illegal aliens in 2018.
Trevor Tatsuya Murphy was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful taking of a vehicle, and trafficking stolen property in California. Murphy was not included in the original complaint.
A police department in California issued a press release in 2014 identifying Murphy as one half of a pair responsible for a series of thefts and vehicle burglaries that concluded with the pair striking a victim with a stolen vehicle while fleeing.
Robert Smith, Jr., was convicted of attempted murder, arson, stalking, criminal threats, and drug-related charges in California. Smith gathered two signatures.
Scott Simpson was convicted of felony drug offenses in Arizona. Simpson gathered about 100 signatures.
Jennifer Smith was convicted of drug possession in California. Smith was not included in the original complaint.
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