In the spring of 1781, the Revolutionary War was still undecided. Massachusetts had just ratified a new state constitution that Samuel Adams helped write, and its citizens were preparing to choose their leaders. Adams wrote to a Boston newspaper with a reminder of what a vote truly is:
“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual — or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”
Adams wrote to people still fighting for the right to govern themselves. His words apply just as surely to every Arizona voter this fall. A vote is not a favor to a familiar name. It is a trust. The general election edition of the Arizona Voter Guide is now available in print and at azvoterguide.com. It is built to help you carry that trust well.
For three decades, the Voter Guide has been Arizona’s most trusted nonpartisan voter resource. The print edition covers state and congressional candidates along with all eight statewide propositions.
Starting October 7, the online edition adds judicial retention, city council, and school board races. It includes research on judges’ records and on who is funding these races. Spanish editions are available online.
Every candidate received the same survey on the issues that matter most to Arizona families. Take it yourself, then see which candidates line up with you. Adams warned against casting a vote as a compliment to someone or as a popularity contest; the Arizona Voter Guide survey lets you weigh where candidates actually stand. And please vote the entire ballot, all the way to the bottom.
Mark Your Calendar
October 5: Voter registration deadline
October 7: Early voting begins
October 23: Last day to request an early ballot
October 26: Last day to mail your early ballot
October 30: Last day to vote early in person
November 3: Election Day, polls close at 7 p.m.
New this year, you may walk your own early ballot into a polling location and show your ID. It will be verified and counted on the spot. This process, known as ID Verify, counts your vote faster, bypassing the signature verification process.
What Is on Your Ballot… Even Though It Is Not
As you already know, Proposition 212 will not appear on your ballot. The out-of-state special interests that spent more than $10 million trying to put it there have given no sign of stopping. Save Our Schools Arizona has made it its mission to attack educational freedom through the Legislature instead of a petition.
That makes the candidates on this ballot central to the future of the more than 100,000+ students who use ESAs. Every state and federal candidate was asked where they stand on school choice and ESAs, and their answers are in the Voter Guide.
The Propositions
Eight measures are on the statewide ballot. CAP recommends a YES vote on four of them.
Prop 142 (constitutional amendment): This measure ends taxpayer-funded favoritism in state hiring, including DEI. State jobs should go to the most qualified person. The U.S. Supreme Court has made it increasingly clear that government cannot sort people by race, and Prop 142 writes that principle into the Arizona Constitution.
Prop 144 (constitutional amendment): This measure requires government ID as proof of citizenship to vote and guards Arizona elections against foreign money. Without election integrity, every effort to protect life, family, and religious freedom is at risk.
The remaining measures would change state law. Once voters pass a law in Arizona, neither the Legislature nor the governor can fix it. Voters hold the final word.
Prop 318: This measure protects girls’ sports for girls. For more information on this, see last week’s FMF.
Prop 320: This measure requires large school districts to put at least 60 percent of their operating budgets into the classroom.
CAP takes no position on Propositions 141, 316, 317, and 319, which fall outside CAP’s issue areas. The Voter Guide lays out the arguments on each.
Get your Voter Guide at azvoterguide.com and share it with your family and your church. Adams and his generation of Americans fought for the right to carry this trust. Ours is called to carry it well, accountable to God and to our country.
ICYMI
Yesterday, the IRS took a significant step toward implementing the new federal Education Freedom Tax Credit by releasing its proposed regulations for the program. This new federal tax credit extends the promise of education opportunity to more children. States must opt in and 30 states have already done so. Unfortunately, Arizona is not yet a participating state. It is up to Governor Hobbs to make sure that Arizona’s children are not left out.
Paid for by Center for Arizona Policy. Not authorized by any candidate.