Kyrsten Sinema

DENVER -- In the upstairs room of a restaurant near the Colorado Convention Center Tuesday, a group of female delegates to the Democratic National Convention met to discuss the organization to which they belong - one they hope will become a new power in politics, both in Arizona and nationwide.

Emerge, founded in California in 2002, is a group that strives to "identify, educate and inspire Democratic women who want to pursue elective office at the local and state level." It offers training in "all aspects" of political campaigning, from fundraising to public speaking to Internet outreach.

The Arizona chapter was established in 2004, and since then has produced a number of successful graduates, as evidenced by the half-dozen or so members of the Arizona delegation who entered politics via Emerge training.

"Emerge women all ran a campaign to become a delegate, and they were all successful in their efforts," said Dana Kennedy, a delegate who is executive director of the Arizona branch. 

The Arizona Secretary of State's office ruled Thursday that the Arizona Civil Rights Initiative does not have enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. Over 100,000 were rejected for reasons such as missing or inaccurate information from signers, or signers who aren't registered voters in the state.

The initiative, which is in the mold of several other initiatives nationwide that would in effect destroy affirmative action at the states' colleges and universities, collected over 330,000 signatures, nearly 100,000 above the necessary number. However, after the secretary of state deemed 40 percent invalid, lowering it below the threshold of about 240,000 signatures. 

At a press conference outside the Executive Tower Monday, state Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Phoenix) led a throng of supporters announcing that Protect Arizona Freedom, the organization she helps lead, has filed suit to challenge over 100,000 signatures on the Arizona Civil Rights Initiative ballot petition.

The initiative, which is the brainchild of former University of California regent and anti-affirmative action activist Ward Connerly, was submitted for review by the Arizona Secretary of State on July 3 with over 323,000 signatures. 230,047 are required to make it to the ballot.

However, PAF is trying to drive that number down by 105,107 through its lawsuit, which alleges 13 categories of violations committed by petition circulators which invalidate those signatures. Among the most serious charges are instances where PAF accuses paid circulators of using "another individual's identification to try to prove residency," and cases where a circulator "misrepresented his or her residential address," as well as practices such as duplicating signatures on numerous petition sheets.

Protect Arizona's Freedoms (PAF), a group chaired by state Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Phoenix) that opposes the anti-affirmative action Arizona Civil Rights Initiative, has vowed to fight on in its quest to keep the initiative off the ballot.

Sarah Luna, the group's communications manager, said that PAF plans to sort through the signatures on the ACRI petitions and look for a basis on which to challenge the proposed amendment to the Arizona constitution.

"It's a time intensive process," said Luna. "Depending on what we find, that'll determine what the appropriate legal action would be."