AZ Politicians Have Unconstitutionally Restricted the Ballot Initiative Process

Arizona’s constitution gives Arizona voters the right to create and vote on ballot initiatives.

Unfortunately, Arizona’s ballot initiative process is under attack from state politicians. This year, the Arizona Legislature passed a law that requires an unrealistic and unreasonable level of perfection for any ballot measures. The law subjects ballot initiatives to a concept called “strict compliance” that will make these citizen efforts much more expensive and difficult; therefore, allowing the state government more control by greatly reducing and restricting the amount of ballot initiatives it allows citizens to create and vote on. The “strict compliance” standard means that ballot measures can now be turned away for technical, inadvertent, and inconsequential mistakes like a coffee stain or an ink smudge.

Facing this constitutional crisis, six plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit to stop this outrageous law (HB4422) from taking effect, arguing that it is unconstitutional. Regrettably, the Court refused to make a decision on the constitutionality of the law, saying that the plaintiffs did not have the standing to sue.

Now, the plaintiffs must appeal, and they need financial help. A donation to the Marijuana Policy Project’s Legal Defense Fund will help plaintiffs continue their fight against this unconstitutional law that severely curtails Arizonans’ right to a ballot initiative.

Donate Here

To learn more, contact Chris Lindsey, Senior Legislative Counsel for the Marijuana Policy Project, at states@mpp.org.