Lawmakers could rescue dying voter initiatives

The citizen drive to require disclosure of “dark money” in Arizona’s political campaigns is announcing a “pause” in the effort to put the initiative on the November 2020 ballot.

Though Outlaw Dirty Money leaders won’t yet say so, there is simply no way now to get enough signatures to allow voters to decide whether they want to ban dark money.

Or outlaw school voucher expansion.

Or raise taxes to better fund Arizona’s schools.

With the exception of the proposal to legalize recreational marijuana — which reportedly already has enough signatures to make the ballot — the novel coronavirus has killed our constitutional right to make laws at the ballot box this year.

But take heart, Arizona. Our politicians are allowed to collect their nominating signatures online.

I know that’s a relief.

The Legislature could, of course, change the law, out of respect for the voters they (supposedly) represent.

Even now, lawyers and technical wizards are looking into what it would take to allow the legal online collection of signatures for initiative petitions.

There is, however, one major hurdle I fear they cannot overcome:

Politics.

While our leaders are busy pleading with their constituents to go online to sign their nominating petitions, the Republicans who control the state Capitol have no interest in making it that easy to sign initiative petitions.

Just as they have no interest in making it easy for Arizonans to vote this year by allowing counties the onetime option of running all-mail elections.

But I digress.

Outlaw Dirty Money isn’t throwing in the towel.

“It’s a pause not a termination,” campaign chairman Terry Goddard told me on Thursday. “If a miracle happens and Donald Trump is right and we’re all back in our gatherings by Easter, we could start up again.”

Yes and we could all could go hop, hop, hopping down that delusional trail right along with the president, never mind that we already have taken a header deep down into the rabbit hole.

Here’s what Gov. Doug Ducey and the Legislature could do. And should

They could pass emergency legislation allowing for the one-time online collection of initiative signatures.

do (but alas, won’t do):

❚ They could pass emergency legislation allowing for the one-time online collection of initiative signatures, given the times in which we live. It would take a supermajority to take effect in time for campaigns to meet the July 2 deadline.

❚ They could approve a bill allowing the signatures collected this year — from hundreds of thousands of their constituents — to be used in 2022.

“There’s a very poignant case to be made for all of petitions to be in the field now ...” Goddard said. “As long as the emergency is going on, in the name of public safety, we are not exercising our constitutional right to get our item on the ballot and it’s incredibly wrong that our Legislature hasn’t come up with any other options. The electronic option absolutely should exist. The fact that they did it for themselves is proof positive of that.”

Polls show 8 out of 10 voters want to know who is behind the endless waves of attack ads aimed at influencing us to vote a certain way.

Eight out of 10.

Outlaw Dirty Money needs 356,467 signatures by July 2 to get on the Nov. 3 ballot.

They had 275,000 signatures in hand when the coronavirus hit.

Damn.