Arizona Voters Reject Legislative Power Grab to Protect Direct Democracy, Judicial Independence, and Tipped Workers’ Wages
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 5, 2024
PRESS CONTACT:
Alison Marciniak
Deputy Executive Director, Progress Arizona
(480) 332-2462
alison@progressarizona.org
Arizona Voters Reject Legislative Power Grab to Protect Direct Democracy, Judicial Independence, and Tipped Workers’ Wages
PHOENIX, AZ — Arizona voters have decisively rejected a series of legislative referrals that would have substantially changed citizens’ access to direct democracy, ability to hold judges and justices accountable, and lowered wages for tipped workers. Propositions 134, 136, 137, and 138 were defeated following a multi-million dollar campaign led by the Will of the People coalition. Will of the People is an organization affiliated with Progress Arizona focused on protecting direct democracy and legislative overreach.
The failed measures included provisions that would have established new geographic requirements for ballot measure petition signatures and created additional legal steps during the signature-gathering process. Proposition 137, which drew particular attention, proposed eliminating judicial retention elections in the state.
“Tonight, Arizonans sent a clear message that they won’t be fooled by political tricks out of the legislature,” said Alison Marciniak, spokesperson for Will of the People. “Voters saw through these deceptive measures and sent a message to the legislature that Arizona voters believe in their constitutionally protected rights to direct democracy and ability to vote out bad justices.”
Proposition 134 would have established nearly impossible geographic requirements for citizen initiatives allowing one small area to reject an initiative that millions signed.. Proposition 136 would have expanded opportunities for legal challenges during the signature-gathering phase of ballot initiatives, which opponents argued would create logistical obstacles for grassroots campaigns.
The opposition to these measures brought together voters from across party lines who viewed the propositions as an attempt to restrict citizen participation in the democratic process.
“Today’s results prove that when voters understand what’s at stake, they’ll defend their democratic rights,” Marciniak added. “Arizonans want more say in our democracy, not less, and they’ve rejected these attempts to take away their power.”
The results uphold the current systems for citizen initiatives and judicial retention elections, preserving existing processes for direct democracy and judicial accountability in Arizona.
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About Will of the People
Will of the People is an organization affiliated with Progress Arizona dedicated to protecting direct democracy and preventing legislative overreach. Will of the People led a successful campaign against Propositions 134, 136, 137, and 138 in Arizona. For more information, visit www.willofthepeople.org.