Updated SWAG List of State Primary Candidates for 2020

It is time to update the “silly wild ass guess” (SWAG) list of candidates running for office in November. Below is a list of candidates who made the cut at the filing deadline to run for either the State Legislature or a seat on the Corporation Commission. The filing deadline for declared party candidacies was April … Read more

GOP Voter Suppression Week at the Legislature

This is the last week for bills to be heard in committee in their chamber of origin. Expect to see packed committee agendas this week. For those of you who are doing bill tracking and using “Request to Speak” (RTS) to comment on legislation in the Arizona legislature, we could use your help in posting … Read more

Arizonans for Fair Elections file the Fair Elections Act initiative

In case you missed it, this happened this past week. Arizonans for Fair Elections filed an ambitious ballot initiative that includes a laundry list of election reforms that I have advocated on behalf of for years (and a few I hadn’t even thought of). The Arizona Republic reported, Effort underway to significantly change elections in … Read more

Is there a voter crisis in Arizona?

Recently in July 2018  the ASU Morrison Institute for Public Policy issued a report  entitled “Arizona’s Voter Crisis”.

Here’s the report funded by the Citizens Clean Election Commission (CCEC) and on their website:

https://storageccec.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/public/docs/312-Voter-Crisis-Report-FINAL3.pdf

I attended a recent Tucson town hall on October 24 hosted by these 2 entities in which Joseph Garcia of ASU (director of communication & impact/co-author of the report) and Tom Collins E.D. of CCEC reported that  2.1 million or 45% of Arizona’s “potential voters” in 2016 (General) didn’t choose to exercise their fundamental right to vote.  They reported on the nationwide trend in erosion of voter participation & on groups which aren’t voting in high numbers:  youth, less educated, and Latinos.  Moreover, Independents have a lower voter turnout due to not voting in primaries (don’t feel that they belong to either party or don’t know they can vote in the primaries by requesting a party ballot), and also don’t feel part of the electoral process.

In August 2018, the voter turnout statewide (of registered voters) for the Arizona Primary was: 33.26%

In the Arizona Mid-term General Election 2018 the voter turnout statewide was:   64.33%.  And higher in Pima County: 70.55%

So the big question in the report was “Why Don’t More People vote?”  (see page 15). There are a myriad of answers including “too busy” “out of town”, etc. but a main reason seems to be lack of information on the candidates and voting process.   So that means better ways to reach voters needs to occur, along with more information.  We here at Blog for Arizona do our best in that regard.
Local reporters after the recent elections were saying that negative campaigning suppresses the vote, or backfires against candidates doing negative campaigning.

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Watch Citizens Clean Elections Commission debates for So. AZ Legislative District races

Watch Clean Election debates for  Southern Arizona Legislative races before General Election on Nov. 6, 2018.

If you’re not sure who’s running for State Senate (1 seat) and State House (2 seats) in LD 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 14 in Southern Arizona,

view the Arizona Clean Elections Commission debates online for these legislative races

at: https://www.azcleanelections.gov/en/past-debates.

LD 2: held on Sept. 24 at Sahuarita High School, Sahuarita

Senator Andrea Dalessandro (D) vs. Shelley Kais (R)

House Reps. Rosanna Gabaldon (D) and Daniel Hernandez, Jr. (D) vs. Republicans Chris Ackerley & Anthony Sizer

LD 3: held on Oct. 17 at PCC West, Tucson

(Senator-elect Sally Gonzales (D) has no opposition in the General  – not part of debate)

House (two open seats): Andres Cano (D) vs. Green candidate Beryl Baker; House candidate Alma Hernandez (D) did not participate

LD 9: held on Oct. 16 at PCC NW, Tucson

Senate (open seat) – former House Rep. Victoria Steele (D) vs. Randy Fleenor (R)

House: Reps. Randy Friese (D) and Pam Powers Hannley (D) vs. Ana Henderson (R)

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