PHOENIX (AP) -- An effort to let Arizona voters decide if the state Constitution should be amended to ban affirmative action programs is facing a court challenge.

A Michigan-based activist group is suing to keep the measure off the November ballot, claiming in a suit that petition-signature gatherers used deceptively worded pitches to convince people to sign.

Supporters of the amendment include Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas. He called the effort "a frivolous lawsuit from a radical organization that is true to its name."

The group that filed suit Monday is called the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary.

The suit was filed in Maricopa County court on behalf of former Phoenix Councilman Calvin Goode and 12 others.

Goode says he signed on to the suit after hearing what he says was a misleading pitch from a signature-gatherer.

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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com

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