November 8, election day, is next week.
Early voting ballots have already been sent out, bringing questions regarding the candidates on the ballot and the ballot measures.
Among this year’s ballot measures is Proposition 128. If passed, Proposition 128 will allow the Arizona legislature to amend or override measures passed by the voters if members of the legislature determine those propositions violate the state Constitution.
Supporters of Proposition 128 say it will give the legislature a process to improve measures that voters approve.
However, opponents of Proposition 128, like Chad Campbell, who was a former minority house leader and is now a consultant with Lumen Strategies, said the proposition will destroy the Voter Protection Act which Arizona voters approved in 1998 to protect laws enacted by the initiative process.
“The voters passed something called The Voter Protection Act because there was a time where the legislature would go back and change these initiatives against the will of the voters,” Campbell said.
Another opponent of Proposition 128 is Eric Chalmers, the vice president of Strategies 360. The political consulting firm is running an opposition campaign on the proposition to “get it to fail.”
“A great example of what could happen if Prop. 128 passes is that marijuana, which became legal recreationally in 2020, could be reverted back to being illegal in Arizona,” Chalmers said.
This is because the Legislature would have the power to go back to already passed initiatives and rewrite them completely if any part of it is deemed unconstitutional.
Campbell, the former minority leader, said during his time in the legislature he frequently witnessed the Republican members of the majority working to find a “back door” to re-write voter-approved initiatives.
Campbell said that this initiative was not an uncommon topic during his time in the legislature.,
“The majority party would oftentimes try to change voter approved ballot measures. We would have to fight them on that. It would never be successful because of the Voter Protection Act,” he said.
On the flip side, some think that this measure is not one of the concerning ones.
Carson Gambs is a 21-year-old nursing student who said she would support the legislature amending voter approved initiatives.
“I think that the legislature has the voters’ best interest in mind. So, if they want to go and rewrite something, then they should be able to do that,” Gambs said.
Additionally, Chalmers said that one of his biggest concerns is the layout of the ballot itself.
“All of the propositions are on the back of the ballot. So the majority of people will vote for all of the candidates that they already know, which are on the front pages, and then the important things that actually matter and involve them are on the back,” Chalmers said.
This raises a lot of questions around whether or not people actually look into ballot measures prior to voting, while they are voting, or just simply voting yes or no without reading at all.
Gambs said that she looks into the measures before she is voting so that way she has time to really dive deeper into what it means and does.
While Chalmers has fears about voters not really reading the full ballot carefully, some voters like Abigail Celaya say they read their ballots very carefully.
Abigail Celaya, a young voter who is very active in the political world, said that she reads what the measures are about once she gets her ballot in the mail.
“When I get my ballot in the mail I usually get a pamphlet as well that goes into detail about who the candidates are and the initiatives being run. I usually read that and then decide from there whether I will vote yes or no,” Celaya said.
add transition here! say something about Campbell
“The biggest issue with the ballot is that they are quite complicated so sometimes it’s hard to really understand what is going on,” said Campbell. “So, people have to do a little extra reading and homework on some of them, to really understand what is being said and its effect on the people.”
Both Chalmers and Campbell said it’s important to spend the extra time to really understand what you are voting for.
“This could roll back Arizona’s abilities to make its own laws, which we have been able to do for the last 100 years. It is taking away the freedom to make decisions,” Chalmers said.
Contact the reporter at jocelynn@up-agency.com
