Twenty strangers who represent different demographic backgrounds gave up their weekend plans to dissect Proposition 487 for the Citizens’ Initiative Review, a project that helps registered voters better understand ballot issues, at the Phoenix Convention Center.
About three-quarters of Arizona voters who were polled said they found ballots too confusing to decipher, and 60 percent use insufficient knowledge to struggle through propositions, according to a press release by ASU’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy.
The Morrison Institute facilitated the project for 3 1/2 days starting on Sept. 18, which was the first to take place in Arizona. CIR is a project funded in partnership with Healthy Democracy, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization that helps promote the public’s opinions in democracy. Oregon and Colorado have held CIRs in the past.
“The outcome is that it empowers Arizona voters in becoming an informed electorate, which was the framers of the Constitution’s intention,” Joseph Garcia, Morrison Institute’s director of communication, said.
Initial contact between Morrison Institute and Healthy Democracy was about two years ago. The project aligns with the institute’s goals as a nonpartisan entity that serves the public, Andrea Whitsett, Morrison Institute’s CIR project director said.
During the weekend, the citizen panelists weighed in the positive and negative opinions toward Proposition 487. Neutral speakers, advocates in support and professionals in opposition to the government pension review spoke to panelists. People from the media and public observers were not allowed to speak to the panelists until after the event to prevent tainting points of view.
The pros and cons were written in a key report which was released as a citizen statement to the public. This project was customized for Phoenix, but followed the process of CIRs in Colorado and Oregon.
“Based on what I’ve seen in Oregon, it was great to see you can bring such a diverse representative citizen panel and how seriously each of those panelists takes the process,” Whitsett said.
The institute sent out recruitment mailing with a questionnaire to 5,000 randomly selected city of Phoenix registered voters, she said. The process was anonymous, and the institute sought to construct the representative panel to match Phoenix’s adult population.
Toni Spears, 47, is a real estate agent and an independent contractor who came into the experience with no expectations as one of the panelists.
“It restored my faith in the democratic system and the voice that citizens can have,” Spears said. “I think this is an effective process and a good means of having citizens come together and get information out there that is more neutral to help citizens in the process.”
A nonpartisan advisory board gave input to Arizona’s CIR project. Members on the board included Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, Arizona Clean Elections Commission Executive Director Thomas Collins and National Institute for Civil Discourse Managing Director Jane Prescott-Smith.
Rivko Knox, an advisory board member and a League of Women Voters of Arizona member, said too much information about ballot measures is biased and not focused on fact.
The Morrison Institute hopes to bring back the CIR for the 2016 election with key statewide ballots. The institute will listen to comments and concerns in order to better prepare for the future.
“What the CIR process ought to try to do is figure out how we can do this for less money,” David Daugherty, associate director of the Morrison Institute said. “Perhaps in a shorter time without trading off too much of what’s gained by all the deliberation.”
Key findings from the CIR can be found on the Morrison Institute website, and the report will be published in the Arizona Republic on Oct. 5.
Contact the reporter at Samantha.Incorvaia@asu.edu.
