Grand Canyon Times

An Arizona ballot initiative that Voter Reference Foundation (VRF) claims is "misnamed" is set to greatly alter the election process for the worse.

In an op-ed release this week, VRF Executive Director Gina Swoboda expressed her concerns about the "Arizonans for Free and Fair Elections Initiative," which VRF argues is "not free and not fair."

"If it passes on the Fall General Election ballot, the elections process in Arizona will be changed in profound ways, none for the better," Swoboda said in the release. "This reads like an anti-Integrity grab bag of every bad idea that could not pass in the AZ Legislature from raising taxes on businesses small and large to eliminating Voter ID."

If passed, the "Arizonans for Free and Fair Elections Initiative" would eliminate proof of citizenship to register and to vote, raise taxes on every small business and corporation, and allow residents to vote in a county in which they do not reside, among many other things. The release identifies the full list of changes that the AZ HR1 initiative would make to the state's election process. 

In the event that the initiative passes on the General Election ballot with more votes than the Voter ID Referendum, "the provision requiring Voter ID will be canceled out by the provision in this measure that precludes Voter ID," the release said.

VRF noted that there will be more to come on this issue as it moves through the filing process.