GOP candidate in Queen Creek not eligible to hold legislative seat, lawsuit contends
A legislative candidate from Queen Creek should be declared ineligible to hold office because he fails to meet constitutional standards, a lawsuit filed Tuesday contends.
But the votes for Republican Michael Way should be counted, and if he wins in the November election, a replacement should be appointed to fill the Arizona House seat representing Legislative District 15, the lawsuit states. That would keep the seat in the heavily red district in GOP control.
The lawsuit from LD 15 resident and Republican voter Deborah Kirkland comes days after The Arizona Republic raised questions about Way's qualifications to be on the ballot.
Way did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the litigation, which was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court.
Although Way claims he has lived in Arizona for 15 years, voter records show he voted in North Carolina in the November 2022 election and indicate he is still considered an active voter in that state as the 2024 election approaches. He did not vote in Arizona's 2022 elections, records show.
Property records also show that he had a residence in Wake Forest, North Carolina, from 2021-24.
Arizona's constitution requires state candidates to have lived in Arizona for three years before their election and in the county in which they are running for one year.
A Court of Appeals ruling from 1984 clarified that the three years must be counted consecutively and must immediately precede the election date.
Two years ago, a decision order from the state Supreme Court knocked a GOP candidate for a legislative seat from Tempe off the ballot. The court agreed with a lower court's finding that Todd Howard had voted in and resided in Maryland in 2020, putting him outside the three-year window needed to qualify for office in 2022.
Way told The Republic last week that he moved to North Carolina briefly during the pandemic. He said he could not recall voting in that state.
The Republican Party of Arizona defended Way in an official statement on social media after the initial report questioning his qualifications was published. The party blamed "the Left and their media allies" for what it called baseless claims.
"Michael has been a proud Arizonan for 15 years, easily met all qualifications to be on the ballot, and was overwhelmingly selected by voters in July," the statement read.
Way finished second out of a field of four Republican candidates to win his party's nomination for two House seats in the July primary. He and Rep. Neal Carter, R-San Tan Valley, face Democrat Barbara Beneitone in the Nov. 5 election.
A court order would be needed to remove Way's name from the ballot, according to the Arizona secretary of state. The printing deadline is Thursday. Attorney Tim La Sota, who is representing Kirkland, said Kirkland was not looking to remove Way from the ballot but to ensure that, if elected, he was not seated.
Kirkland's lawsuit cited more evidence that indicates he has not lived in Arizona recently. Way wrote an opinion piece in the January 2023 edition of the Carolina Journal that portrayed him as a North Carolinian.
"Michael, along with his wife and four children, has grown deep roots and an appreciation for their home in the greater Raleigh area," the author's description stated, noting that he graduated from Arizona State University.
In the op-ed, Way lamented a decision by the North Carolina Board of Education that rejected a charter school application from the American Leadership Academy. He is described in the article as the southeast division president of Charter One, an organization that manages charter schools nationwide.
State Sen. Priya Sundareshan, the co-chair of the Democratic legislative campaign, said in a statement that while the party was still working to "learn more about Way's eligibility, we remain in support of Dem nominee Barbara Beneitone."
Reach the reporter at [email protected] or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: A candidate for the Arizona House isn't qualified, lawsuit contends