Candidate appeals removal from ballot
- San Luis asking candidate to prove English proficiency - Dec. 31, 2011
- Court battle shaping up over San Luis candidate’s eligibility - Jan. 6, 2012
- Candidate’s English fluency to be further tested - Jan. 13, 2012
- Attorneys: Fluency lawsuit infringes on candidate’s rights - Jan. 22, 2012
- San Luis candidate removed from ballot (with video from hearing) - Jan. 25, 2012
- Candidate confirms she will appeal decision removing her from ballot - Jan. 28, 2012
A would-be candidate for the city council in San Luis, Ariz., has asked the Arizona Supreme Court to hear her appeal of an order excluding her from the ballot, according to a report from a New York Times reporter.
Marc Lacey, the newspaper's deputy foreign editor, shared the news Friday night on Twitter.
Alejandrina Cabrera was removed from the ballot for the city's March primary election on Wednesday. Yuma County Superior Court Judge John Nelson determined that she did not possess the level of English proficiency required under Arizona law to hold public office.
Nelson's ruling came after a daylong hearing in which a sociolinguistics expert testified that in tests he administered to Cabrera, she did not demonstrate the level of proficiency needed to serve on the council. Nelson said he based his opinion also on Cabrera's responses to questions posed to her.
Yuma attorney John Minore, who represented Cabrera in the hearing, said he could not comment. Her campaign also declined to comment.
Cabrera was one of 10 candidates to file nominating petitions to run for one of four council seats.
This week's court hearing came after San Luis Mayor Juan Carlos Escamilla, acting as a private citizen, filed a special action in Superior Court seeking a determination on whether Cabrera had the English skills necessary to serve on the council.
