There are several high profile and very important election races that’ll be on the ballot this fall, none more important than the race for governor. With the state legislature sure to be even further to the right that the last one (with the loss of people like Speaker Bowers and Senators Boyer and Pace), and the state supreme court now packed with Ducey appointees, the only check and balance in the system we’ll have will be the governor.
The Secretary of State race is of course important because it goes to the core of our democracy (the SoS oversees elections). The Attorney General is also a very important position – although it has been badly politicized over the last 7.6 years. And then there’s the all-important US Senate race and all of the races for county attorneys, state legislators, school boards and many other positions.
It can be overwhelming for voters. On top of all of that, there will be at least 8 and maybe as many as 11 propositions on your ballot.
There will be 5 constitutional amendments including changes to how elections are handled, how voter initiatives need to be crafted and the threshold needed to pass them, property tax exemptions, and one that creates the office of Lieutenant Governor. These are all 100 Series measures because they change the constitution.
There will be 3 legislative referrals on your ballot. These will be 300 Series propositions because they were referred to the ballot by the legislature and then modify earlier voter initiatives. Those are about allowing Dreamers graduating from AZ schools to get in-state tuition at public AZ colleges & universities, changing what’s required in order to vote, and modifying how rural fire districts are funded.
On top of that, there may be 3 voter initiatives on the ballot (if they survive legal challenges by deep-pocketed special interests). Those cover transparency regarding campaign contributions, election laws, and guardrails for debt collection.
Over the last several years, AzPHA has become an increasingly credible source of information for Arizona residents… as such, we can play an important role in informing the electorate about the potential public health impacts of the various voter initiatives and referenda (good and bad).
[Because of our 501 c3 nonprofit status we’re not supposed to weigh in on candidates- but we can weigh in on ballot measures]
So far, AZPHA has only taken a position on the Predatory Debt Collection Act (Yes)… but our Board of Directors is open to taking a position on other measures. The first step in the process is to have our public health policy committee make recommendations to the board. The board then decides whether to ask AzPHA members whether we should accept the Board’s recommendation to support or oppose a measure.
AzPHA Public Health Policy Committee Meets Friday to Discuss Support/Opposition to Several Voter Initiatives & Referenda
We’ll be having a special AZPHA Policy Committee meeting next Friday (August 26) at 2pm to discuss several voter initiatives and referenda that may impact public health. By the end of the meeting, we hope to be able to make a recommendation to the AZPHA Board whether to support/oppose/or be neutral on 5 different initiatives or referenda.
Note: If you’re not a member of the Public Health Policy Committee, send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll add you to our policy committee basecamp.
If you plan on attending, please do some homework first. You can start by reviewing the following blog posts. There are links to the actual initiative or referenda language inside each post:
You should also review the Publicity Pamphlet Summaries below. On Friday we’ll be focusing on the Initiatives and Referenda in bold. We may go further later and review other ballot measures, but we’re starting with the ones in bold below.
Voter Initiatives
Prop I-4-2022 – Voters’ Right to Know Act
Prop I-5-2022 – Predatory Debt Collection Protection Act
Prop I-16-2022 – Arizona Fair Elections Act
Legislatively Referred Initiatives
Constitutional Amendments
- Proposition 128 – Voter Protection Act Fiscal Note
- Proposition 129 – Initiatives; Single Subject; Title Fiscal Note
- Proposition 130 – Constitutional Property Tax Exemptions Fiscal Note
- Proposition 131 – Lieutenant Governor; Joint Ticket Fiscal Note
- Proposition 132 – Initiatives; Supermajority Vote; Fiscal Note
Legislative Referrals (things that would change a previous voter initiative)
- Proposition 308 – Tuition; Postsecondary Education Fiscal Note
- Proposition 309 – Voter Identification; Affidavit; Fiscal Note
- Proposition 310 – Fire Districts; Funding; Fiscal Note
