Petition measure sparks heated debate over future of citizens’ initiatives

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From the AZ Capitol Times:

Republicans today, and Democrats back in 2009, say prohibiting paid petition circulators from working on a per-signature basis would reduce fraud in the citizens’ initiative process. Republican lawmakers this year have pushed a narrative that the once citizen-driven method of passing laws on the ballot has been “hijacked” by out-of-state special interest groups, and claimed, as Democrats did in 2009, that the system is “rife with fraud.”

The attorneys and signature gathering firms that are hired every two years to get initiatives onto the ballot don’t disagree. There is fraud, they say.

But fraud gets caught.

Fraudulent signatures don’t count toward the more than 150,000 valid signatures from registered Arizona voters that are needed for an initiative to qualify for the ballot. Claims that HB2404, the latest attempt at a pay-by-signature ban, will do anything to stamp out fraud, are “laughable,” they say.

Initiatives are already heavily policed by multiple layers of checks built into the system. Fraudulent and irregular signatures are fully rooted out before an initiative is placed on the ballot, according to those in the petition circulation business. Rather than help restore a grassroots-based citizens’ initiative process, banning signatures from being collecting on a pay-per-signature basis would harm those without deep pockets trying to pass laws by ballot.

Read the full story at AZ Capitol Times

Corrie O'Connor