November Ballot Propositions: 10 of Them!!!

 What you need to know about the 10 propositions on our statewide ballots. 

Only two of the ballot measures came from the citizens gathering signatures to refer an idea. The others were referred to the ballot by state lawmakers. 

👎👎👎  PROP 128: Voter protection act; court determinations

It does NOT Protect Voters!  Prop 128 would allow lawmakers to bypass the Voter Protection Act to amend or repeal any ballot measure with any illegal or unconstitutional language. 

One single sentence or word in an initiative might be found unconstitutional, and the courts currently have a way to deal with that — they nullify just the unconstitutional part and leave the rest. But if Prop 128 passes, lawmakers could then throw out the entire law, even though most of it is perfectly constitutional, which would shift power from the voters to the Legislature. 

👎👎👎  PROP 129: Initiatives; single subject; title

 It would eliminate initiative backers’ ability to combine forces for good-governance initiatives that touch on several aspects of the law. It would give the courts yet another technicality to use to ignore the will of the people.

👎👎👎  PROP 130: Constitutional property tax exemptions

It would amend the state Constitution to allow lawmakers to provide a property tax cut for veterans with disabilities.  No organized opposition. 

👍  PROP 131: Lieutenant governor; joint ticket

This would amend the state Constitution to create the position of lieutenant governor. Candidates would run as a team with gubernatorial candidates, like the vice president. If the governor resigned or died, the lieutenant governor would ascend to the Governor’s Office — instead of the secretary of state, who can be from a different party than the governor.   No organized opposition

👎👎👎PROP 132: Initiatives; supermajority vote; requirement

It would amend the state Constitution to require a 60% vote to increase taxes at the ballot. This is another attempt to weaken the power of the people.

👍👍👍PROP 209: Predatory Debt Collection Protection Act (citizens initiative)

YES on 209!  The measure makes multiple changes to state statutes on wage garnishment debt collection. It limits the interest rate on medical debt to 3%.  Medical debt, in particular, causes many Arizonans to fall into bankruptcy.

👍👍👍PROP 211: Voters’ Right to Know Act (citizens initiative)

Also known as the Stop Dark Money initiative. would change state law to require political groups and people spending more than $50,000 to influence the outcome of an election to disclose the original donor of contributions over $5,000.  

“Dark money” is a corrupting influence on our democratic system and Arizona voters deserve to know who is funding political campaigns. Prop 211 will bring transparency and accountability to campaign messaging because voters will know who is paying for those ads. And it’ll stop regulated utility companies like Arizona Public Service (APS) from secretly funding the campaigns of their own regulators, as has happened in past elections. 

👍👍👍PROP 308: Tuition; post-secondary education

This would change state law to allow all Arizona students, regardless of immigration status, to be eligible for financial aid and in-state tuition at Arizona universities and community colleges. Students must have graduated from an Arizona high school and been enrolled for two years. The measure earned bipartisan support at the Capitol.

👎👎👎PROP 309: Voter identification; affidavit; procedure

This would change state statutes to require voters who vote in person to show a photo ID, instead of multiple pieces of certain mail, like bank statements. For voters without a photo ID, the state would issue a free non-operating license for voting purposes. If receive a ballot by mail, you would be required to write your birthdate, ID number and signature on a “concealed early ballot affidavit.  

It will impede people’s ability to vote by adding burdens and creating confusion. It will invade people’s privacy. 

👍👍👍PROP 310: Fire districts; funding; sales tax increase

This would increase sales taxes by a tenth of a penny on the dollar to fund rural fire districts.  Fire districts serve 1.5 million Arizonans and are responsible for not only fighting fires, but providing emergency medical services in car crashes along major parts of Arizona’s highway system. Fire districts are strapped for manpower, equipment and resources, and 911 calls often take upwards of 30 minutes for a response.  This is good for Gila County.  

Find more on the AZ SOS website   or the Arizona Agenda blog:  https://arizonaagenda.substack.com/p/not-just-candidates-a-cheatsheet