On election day, February 5, the Arizona Libertarian Party won a court order, directing Maricopa County (the most populous county in the state) to let the party have observers present in the county vote-counting center for the presidential primary.

The law says that all qualified parties may have observers present. The Maricopa County elections office had ruled that since the Libertarian Party wasn’t holding a taxpayer-funded presidential primary on February 5, the party would not be permitted to have observers. The case is Maricopa County Libertarian Party v Purcell, superior court cv 2008-2704. The judge’s order says, “The statute does not limit observation to ‘participating’ political parties. Because the legislature used the language ‘each political party’ without qualification and without any special provisions that apply to Presidential Preference Elections, the Court concludes that the position of the Libertarian Party that it is entitled to have observers present pursuant to the statute is well taken.”