Raymond L. Malnar v. Elizabeth Joice

Summary

The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed the removal of Elizabeth Joice’s name from the 2014 general-election ballot for an unexpired Peoria Unified School District Governing Board term. The court held that service of process through the statutory agent satisfied due process and that Joice’s nomination petitions did not substantially comply with the requirement to designate the term’s expiration date. The court also declined to treat her nomination as one for a full four-year term.

Holdings

1. Service of process on the officer statutorily appointed as Joice's agent under A.R.S. § 16-351(D) was sufficient to satisfy due process and establish personal jurisdiction because the statute reasonably provided for actual notice, and the record supported a presumption that the statutory agent performed the required notification duties.
2. Joice was properly excluded from the ballot because her nomination petitions did not comply with A.R.S. § 16-314(D), and the court could not treat her nomination paper for an unexpired term as a nomination for a full four-year term.

Questions Presented

1. Whether service of process on the statutory agent appointed under A.R.S. § 16-351(D) satisfied due process and established personal jurisdiction over Joice.
2. Whether Joice's noncompliant nomination petitions substantially complied with statutory requirements so that her name could appear on the ballot for either the unexpired term or a full four-year term.

Disposition

affirmed