September 16,2024 | Triadvocates
| This week, the Arizona Secretary of State’s office published the “General Election Publicity Pamphlet” which goes to every registered voter household in the State. Think of the longest, most ponderous book you had to read in high school or college. You knew there was going to be a test. You knew that your results would be on your “permanent record”. But you still had trouble getting motivated to dive in. The Publicity Pamphlet gives you another chance to ace that test, with the exam coming on November 5th or earlier when you fill out an early ballot starting October 9. The Pamphlet will be delivered to your mailbox in short order if you are an Arizona registered voter. Weighing in at 356 pages, printed on paper that is one grade higher than tissue, it will be a coffee table book that you can use as a reference to understand some of the 13 statewide ballot measures. If paper isn’t your thing, the Secretary of State also makes the Publicity Pamphlet available for online viewing.The Pamphlet includes important information about voter registration deadlines, general election dates, and ways to track your ballot. It provides some information from the Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review so you can learn more about the dozens of judges you are being asked to retain on the bench or send them to new employment (a rarity). The meat of the matter is the ballot measures. There are three types: Amendments to the Arizona Constitution (100’s); Citizen Initiatives (200’s) and Legislative Referrals (300’). Anything in the 400’s is a local initiative, and information will be provided separately. The Pamphlet includes the actual legal language of the ballot measure, plus a summary prepared by Legislative Council, a non-partisan arm of the Legislature. These summaries were subsequently approved by a partisan committee of Legislators, which led to some controversy about impartiality. Finally, most measures are accompanied by “Ballot Arguments” which are submitted by advocates for one side or the other. Again, these are intended to persuade and inform with multiple perspectives. This is not an easy read. It takes time. There will be a test. This isn’t like your freshman English class when you were assigned “Lord of the Flies”, and you read part of it and did SparkNotes for the rest. This is your chance to play “Citizen Legislator”, and you get to vote Yes or No on these laws and amendments. And, best of all, the test is “open book”. Remember, any law passed at the ballot can only be changed by either another ballot measure, or a ¾ vote of the Legislature, and only if that change is in “furtherance of the purposes of the Act.” In Other News: Sept 14, 2024, is also the General Effective Date for bills passed into law by the Legislature this session. This is an annual rite of delayed satisfaction. The debates are long gone. The fire is out. And now the laws are going into effect. |