Court hears challenge to proposed ballot measure

A judge’s ruling is now awaited on whether Arizona’s general election ballot in November will include a referendum on secret ballots.

The proposed constitutional amendment would require secret ballots for public elections and for workers voting on whether to organize as part of a labor union.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge did not immediately rule after a hearing Tuesday on a union’s lawsuit challenging the referendum.

The suit contends that the ballot measure violates Arizona’s rule that constitutional ballot measures be limited to one question. Supporters of the lawsuit contend it doesn’t violate the “single-subject rule” and are asking to keep the measure on the ballot.