On Friday’s AZ Illustrated Politics, Attorney Jeff Rogers, Arizona Education Parent Network President Ann-Eve Pedersen and Marson Media CEO Barrett Marson debated the changes to Arizona’s election laws that were passed in the last legislative session. Activists with the Arizona Democratic Party, the Arizona Libertarian Party, and other groups are now gathering signatures to refer the law to the voters in November 2014. (For details on the law and the referendum drive, see last week’s cover story, “Ballot Boxing.”)
This article appears in Aug 1-7, 2013.
HR 2305 has to be stopped in it’s tracks right now. Signing a petition, regardless of your political party means only that the law will not go into effect until it can be placed on the ballot in 2014 for the citizens to decide its fate. You heard some of the arguments in the video (yes, you have to watch it). Regardless of which way you felt the arguments fell, this needs more time for discussion and reflection on both sides of the issue.
Please find a petition to sign, perhaps at your local library or Party headquarters and let’s give the citizens of the state the chance to decide what they want to do with these election law changes.
The only reason the legislature can get away with these alterations in the laws is because the Voting Rights Act was struck down by the US Supreme Court and changes to our election laws had to be reviewed by the Justice Department under that Act. Would these have passed muster??
HB 2305
In my LD 2, 75% of the Democrats in danger of being purged from the Permanent Early Voting List are Latino while only 25% of the Republicans in danger of being purged are Latino. This is targeted VOTER SUPRESSION.