By Nick Worth The right of workers to have a secret ballot in union elections, which was approved as a state constitutional amendment by Arizona’s voters in the Nov. 2, 2010, election was upheld in a Sept. 5 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Frederick Martone. “This is a stinging rebuke to an outrageous National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) attack made in 2011 when that panel tried to subvert the sanctity of the secret ballot,” said Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne in a press release. The NLRB had called for Arizona to negate the measure. At the heart of the matter is the NLRB’s claim that it is the agency entrusted with enforcement of the Na-tional Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRB expressed the fear that any violations of the secret ballot meas-ure would then be addressed by Arizona courts rather than by the NLRB, which is charged with the enforce-ment of the NLRA. The NLRA already guarantees the right of secret ballots in union elections. Horne went on to call Martone’s decision “A tremendous victory” for the institution of free elections. He said three other states passed similar constitutional amendments and the NLRB had threatened all four states with a lawsuit, but had only sued Arizona.