Arizona Republican lawmakers are once again trying to make it more difficult for citizen groups to propose their own laws. A bill that’s moving through the Arizona Legislature would impose new requirements that could keep a measure from ever getting to voters.
The bill would mandate organizations that hire paid circulators who collect signatures, also gather information like email and phone numbers.
Proponents say the additional requirements will protect the integrity of the election process. Opponents, like Rivko Knox of the League of Women Voters, say the measure is designed to make it tougher for voter-crafted initiatives like raising the state’s minimum wage, for example, to get on the ballot.
“If you put in enough Is and Ts, some dots and crosses are bound to be missed,” Knox said.
This bill comes after some legislators were concerned about the permanence of citizen-driven initiatives becoming law.