Two people have filed a lawsuit in Cochise County Superior Court seeking an injection and expedited hearing on what they are calling the “challenging and unlawful placement and conduct” of the jail district tax election next month.

Edwin Groover and Steven Dickinson filed court documents September 30 claiming the Arizona Constitution requires any initiative or referendum approving a tax be passed by at least 60 percent of the votes cast. The pair also claim the county unlawfully placed the jail district tax measure on the ballot by resolution alone without petitions, and prepared ballot and publicity materials that omit the sixty-percent requirement.

The court document states, “these actions mislead voters, deny equal protection, and violate the guarantee of free and equal elections under the Arizona Constitution.”