(posted by Uriel Rivera)
A group calling itself One Arizona filed petitions with the state Wednesday to refer Arizona's new immigration law
It's the second referendum drive announced this week.
One Arizona chairman Andrew Chavez, who runs a petition-circulation company, said the groups want voters to overturn Senate Bill 1070.
He declined to identify One Arizona, other than to say it consists of concerned Arizona groups and individuals. The emergence of One Arizona has prompted an earlier referendum effort to narrow its scope.
Gary Peter Klahr, a disbarred attorney who is working with activist Jon Garrido on a separate repeal of the immigrationlaw, said his group will seek a vote on what he called the "objectionable" parts of SB 1070, instead of trying to overturn the entire legislation.
They are still working on the precise ballot language, Klahr said, so the "objectionable" passages are still being debated.
Both efforts require the signatures of 76,682 registered voters within 90 days of the end of the legislative session. With the Legislature working toward an adjournment today, 4/29 that would mean petitions would be due at the end of July.
But the later the petitions come in, the slimmer the chance of qualifying for the November ballot.
That's because the Secretary of State and the county recorders need time to verify the voter signatures, said Matthew Benson, a spokesman for Secretary of State Ken Bennett. Benson said he can't name a hard and fast deadline to qualify for this fall's ballot, but said the earlier the petitions come in, the better the chances.
If organizers fail to make the November ballot, the measure would go before voters in the November 2012 general election
