Homeless in Arizona

I have noticed in the last year they already passed one new law that makes it hard for voters to file initiatives.

They now require you to fill out a bunch of notarized paperwork for a campaign finance committee that they didn't 2 years ago.

Before if your group was spending less then $500 you didn't have to file any notarized paperwork. You just created a campaign finance committe online and that was it.

Now you have to create the campaign finance committee online, print off the paper work, have the paper work notarized and then file the paper work within 5 days of filling it out online.

Source

Arizona bill would change rules for gathering petition signatures

Mary Jo Pitzl , The Republic | azcentral.com Published 7:42 p.m. MT March 1, 2017

It takes at least 152,000 voter signatures to put an initiative on the Arizona ballot.

But a proposal now halfway through the legislative process would make it harder to hit that total and could constrain direct democracy, say professional signature-gathering firms and opponents of the measure. Supporters, however, say it would ensure broad-based support for citizen initiatives, more fully representing all Arizonans.

The House on Wednesday approved House Concurrent Resolution 2029, which would require each of the state's 30 legislative districts to contribute a minimum number of signatures to any petition drive. Currently, all that's needed is for backers to collect a total number, regardless of where they come from in the state.

The measure passed along party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed. It now heads to the Senate and, if successful, would go to the voters for consideration in November 2018.

A higher hurdle

Andrew Chavez, who runs Petition Partners, a petition firm, said the proposal creates another barrier for citizen initiatives. His firm, which pays petition passers, already gathers signatures from each of the state's 15 counties. Getting them from 30 legislative districts shouldn't be difficult, although likely more costly, he said.

"This is far more of a hurdle for volunteers, or labor groups," Chavez said, saying volunteer manpower only goes so far in getting the thousands of needed signatures.

To put a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot, HCR 2029 would require signatures in each of the 30 districts equal to 15 percent of the number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial race in that district. For new state laws, the requirement would be 10 percent, and 5 percent for referenda, which refer a legislatively approved law to the voters for consideration.

In some districts, the 15 percent threshold today would range from 3,085 voter signatures in Legislative District 29 in northwest Phoenix-Glendale, to 12,235 in LD23, which covers Fountain Hills and most of Scottsdale. That runs afoul of the one-man, one-vote equal-access standard, Democrats said.

Nathan Sproul, who runs initiatives out of his political consulting firm, Lincoln Strategies, agreed.

"It changes the logistics a lot," he said. "It's difficult."

Broad-based support

Republicans argued the measure would show geographically widespread support.

House Speaker J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, argued signatures from each of the 30 districts would ensure there is buy-in from across the state.

But Democrats complain just one district could block the intent of citizens in the other 29 districts, letting a minority overrule the majority.

"If I was trying to keep an initiative off the ballot, all I'd have to do is focus on one district," Rep. Ken Clark, D-Phoenix, said. Any group opposed to a voter initiative could work to dampen efforts in just one district, and a whole initiative could be derailed, he said.

He predicted the measure would land in court if it passes the Legislature.

"It's going to happen," he said. "Lawsuits are on auto-pilot in this state."

Reworking the initiative process

HCR 2029, sponsored by Rep. Don Shooter, R-Yuma, is the latest in a series of bills and ballot referrals aimed at the citizen-initiative process.

Last week, the House approved House Bill 2404, which would ban the practice of paying petition circulators by the signature.

Chavez said lawmakers recognize the difficulty of getting voters to reject something called the "Voter Protection Act," which prevents lawmakers from changing voter-approved initiatives, so they are taking aim at the gears of the process that makes citizen initiatives possible.

"They're both intended to slow down or stop the initiative process," he said, referring to HCR 2029 and HB 2404.

In addition, the House approved two measures last week that would ask voters in 2018 to repeal the Voter Protection Act.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.