MWEG Arizona Values the Voice of the People

The MWEG Arizona chapter is working to defend and support the rights of citizens to participate in government. One of MWEG’s principles of ethical government states: “Political structures and electoral systems should be designed to maximize participation of and provide equitable access to all citizens in a society.”

Christie Black, one of MWEG Arizona’s chapter leaders, wrote about this issue and some of the ballot propositions Arizona voters will have the opportunity to vote on in the upcoming election:

Democracy thrives when all people have the opportunity to use their voices, both through principled voting and participation in the civic process. Civic engagement is sacred and must not be diminished. Arizona voters will have the chance to affirm that we truly value the voice of the people through three propositions (128, 129, and 132) on the ballot this November.

Arizona’s Founding Fathers granted direct lawmaking power to the people in the form of ballot initiatives, through a specific process outlined in the Arizona Constitution. Ballot initiatives provide voters with opportunities to engage in the democratic process at multiple levels. In addition to voting to approve or reject initiatives on the ballot, Arizona voters can propose statute through involvement in initiating a ballot measure. This allows Arizona voters an opportunity to maximize their participation in democracy and use their voices to make change. 

Rather than heeding the will of the people, lawmakers continue to pass laws that make it more and more difficult for citizens to exercise their right to vote. The legislature failed to pass many of these insidious bills during the legislative session. Now, they are trying to secure passage of three other bills through legislature-referred ballot initiatives. Individually, these initiatives may seem insignificant, but they are intended to minimize voter participation in the lawmaking process, specifically in the ability to create and pass voter-led ballot initiatives.

For example, we have the chance this election cycle to revise predatory debt statutes, invest in educating Arizona kids, change the sales tax rate to fund rural fire districts, and increase campaign donation transparency. Soon, voters will be able to cast votes for or against these proposed measures. Arizonans worked to draft these initiatives, gather hundreds of thousands of signatures, and raise funding in order to educate voters. 

The citizen ballot initiative process is already robust in order to ensure that only initiatives desired by a significant percentage of the population appear on the ballot and that the language is sufficiently clear for voters to understand. Even widely popular initiatives do not always make the ballot. 

We must recognize the power that we currently have as Arizona citizens and not yield that power to elected officials — so we must vote no on Propositions 128, 129, and 132.