Arizona Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake told Arizonans she supports Propositions 128, 129, and 132, which are all up for a vote on the November election ballot, in a video released Sunday.
“Blue state billionaires are spending tens of millions of dollars to raise taxes in Arizona. Don’t let them California our Arizona,” Lake said. “Vote yes on Propositions 128, 129, and 132.”
You know what's really spooky? Blue-state billionaires spending 10s of million of dollars to raise our taxes here in Arizona. 👻
We stand with @KariLake in calling on Arizonans to vote YES on Props 128, 129 and 132! pic.twitter.com/mEUcn4yeIs
— Arizona Free Enterprise Club (@azfec) November 1, 2022
Lake called these propositions “common sense proposals” that will make future ballot initiatives more transparent, in line with the Arizona Constitution, and ensure tax raises require a supermajority to pass.
Specifically, Proposition 128 would allow the Arizona State Legislature to amend or repeal voter-approved ballot measures that contain unconstitutional provisions. Relating to ballot measures, Proposition 129 would limit each initiative to only one subject that must be expressed in the measure’s title. Moreover, Proposition 132 would require any ballot measure that proposes any tax increase to pass by a 60 percent supermajority to pass into law.
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AFEC) supports all three of these propositions and recently shared why it is essential for Arizonans to vote them into law. The AFEC revealed the campaign finance report for a group called Will of the People, which opposes all three ballot measures by claiming they take power away from Arizona voters. It turns out that 99 percent of their financial support came from out of state. The group reported receiving nearly $325,000 in 2022; however, only $33 came from Arizona residents. Despite claiming only 20 percent of contributions come from out of state, 11 payments totaling $254,000 came from the Washington D.C.-based Fairness Project. An additional $70,000 came from California’s Every Single Vote, and the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, also from D.C., contributed $300. The AFEC said that this exemplifies why Arizona needs these initiatives to pass, to keep out-of-state special interest groups from getting their agendas on Arizona’s ballots.
For example, the AFEC pointed to Proposition 208, which narrowly passed by 51 percent in 2020 to increase taxes on individuals with higher income and give that money to Arizona teachers. However, this law caused economic harm to Arizona small businesses and was funded mainly by out-of-state interest groups. In March, the Maricopa County Superior Court ruled against Prop 208, stating that the law was unconstitutional. The club argued that had Props 128, 129, and 132 been in place, Prop 208 would never have passed.
As reported by The Arizona Sun Times, Tim Mooney, a political consultant from Arizona with experience working on ballot measures, said these measures will help prevent ballot measure abuse.
“The initiative process is an essential part of our democracy. Equally essential is for it to not be abused. These propositions will protect voters and taxpayers by ensuring that future ballot measures will be more clear and concise,” Mooney said.
The Arizona-based Goldwater Institute (GI) has also spoken in favor of these initiatives. Specifically, regarding Prop 129, the GI argued that it is a reasonable next step for Arizona and said layering ballot measures is a way for special interest groups to hide harmful propositions within measures that appear well-meaning on the outside. With the passage of 129, Arizonans will always know exactly what they are voting for. Moreover, over 60 percent of the county already has a single-subject initiative law already, and the GI said it is time for Arizona to add to this statistic.
There are a total of 10 propositions on Arizona’s ballot this November. Read up on each of them here.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Kari Lake” by Arizona Free Enterprise Club.
