Four years after dark money flowed into Arizona’s general election, the “Outlaw Dirty Money” measure is down to the wire gathering signatures needed to put it on the ballot.
In 2014, Terry Goddard, Phoenix’s former mayor and state attorney general, had a 10-point lead over his Republican opponent Michele Reagan for Secretary of State.
But, as the election approached, tens of millions of untraceable dollars poured into negative ad blitzes aimed at Democrats running for statewide office.
“There was a big chunk at the very end of the election in 2014,” Goddard remembered of the last two weeks. “They came in to clobber my election when I was running for Secretary of State.”
He is not running for office this round, but he is campaigning to get the “Outlaw Dirty Money” measure on the ballot and ultimately donor transparency a law protected by Arizona’s state constitution.
“The real person trying to use their agenda to influence your vote is completely hidden,” he explained. “And, Arizona has made it easier to hide than in any other state. Because of that, we’ve got more dirty money in our elections in Arizona by millions of dollars than any other state.”
Goddard warned the deadline to submit 300,000 signatures is looming. To ensure they have enough qualified signatures to meet elections requirements, he has asked all volunteers submit petitions by June 30.
“We’re within striking distance,” he said. “We’re about 40,000 signatures away.”
Making it easier for voters to sign on, Goddard said volunteers will be out in force.
“We’ve got volunteers working the sports games and every public event that’s going on this weekend,” Goddard assured.
Arizonans can learn where to sign a petition by visiting the measure's online site at outlawdirtymoney.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been modified to correct information about where voters can sign the petition.