PAUL DAVENPORT
Associated Press Writer

PHOENIX - Whether an immigration initiative will qualify for the Arizona ballot remained in doubt yesterday as national groups said they will turn over nearly 100,000 voter signatures to the campaign.
The Washington-based Federation for American Immigration Reform said it and other groups will turn over signatures collected by paid gatherers to the Protect Arizona Now campaign's leaders on Tuesday, two days before the July 1 deadline to turn in signatures to qualify initiatives for the Nov. 2 general election.

The initiative campaign's leader previously estimated its volunteers had collected up to 30,000 signatures.

It takes 122,612 voter signatures to qualify an initiative for the ballot.

"We stand a good chance of qualifying," said Rick Oltman, FAIR's western field director. "I don't want to be misleading. I feel that the collection of signatures is going well and that if we work real hard in the remaining week, we just might have a chance."

Kathy McKee, PAN's director, could not be reached for comment after FAIR's announcement.

The initiative is aimed at preventing illegal immigrants from receiving government services not required by the federal government. It would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote.