Maricopa court accepts challenge to Quartzsite election

UPDATE 4/15: The hearing is scheduled for 8:30am on April 16th at La Paz Superior Court.

UPDATE 4/10: Wednesday’s hearing is going to be rescheduled. Update here when it happens.

UPDATE 4/11: Hearing scheduled for 2pm at the Central Court Building, 201 W. Jefferson Street.

Next Wednesday at 2 o’clock, a Marcicopa County court will hear evidence challenging the Town of Quartzsite’s actions after the March 13th primary election. “The Town and Town Clerk acted illegally and contrary to law”, according to the complaint, which seeks to prevent candidate Mike Jewitt taking office as a council member.

The complaint, by election candidate John Prutch, alleges that the Town seated his opponent Jewitt without following the law. The complaint says that the law demands Prutch and Jewitt proceed to the run-off election in May, because Jewitt did not receive over 50 percent of the votes as candidates in a primary election are required to do to be seated.

The Town claims that the election for that seat was a ‘special’ election, the rules of which are different. Prutch’s motion counters that all the ballots and references to the election by Town and County called it a ‘primary’ election.

This battle is the latest in a war between two opposing sides in Quartzsite politics. Prutch is a challenger observers see as opposing the current council and town officials, while observers see Jewitt as the Town’s candidate, claiming that the Town is politically motivated in declaring Jewitt as elected.