Arizona’s “Independents’ Day”
State’s largest voting bloc poised to help deal blow to dark money in 2014 elections
UPDATE 8/18/14: The influence of independent voters in Arizona, written about below, has more evidence mounting for it. See this link to an article about how the Arizona GOP is already looking to close primary elections to unaffiliated voters for 2016.
Fact: In Arizona, there are more voters registered as independent (or unaffiliated) than Republican or Democrat.
That fact hasn’t been especially impressive due to the extremely low voter turnout among independents over the last 14 years. But once you let that fact sink in for about a decade, it’s hard to remain apathetic. Especially when the reasons that largely drove us towards unaffiliation keep compounding into bigger and bigger problems for us — for example: the fact that anonymous money, much of which comes from out of state, plays an increasingly large part in our state elections. It’s a harrowing prospect to imagine fighting against.
Fact: Anonymous campaign contributions in Arizona have exceeded record paces approaching the primary election.
Dark money is a nonpartisan issue. However, sometimes it’s a tough issue to discern since it often infiltrates even the candidates we want to support. But the good news is that lots of politicians hate it themselves, but are beholden to such measures of fundraising merely to compete and keep their hopes alive. Anonymous money given through arms-length political action groups is legal, and it is the norm.
BUT, as 2012 showed us in several national cases, elections aren’t always determined by most money raised. There’s a strong association there, yes, but it is not absolute.
Fact: Independent voters have participated in this year’s primary elections in record numbers.
At this time last election — 2 weeks from the primary — early ballots turned in by Independent voters was half the number that it is this season. That is literally a 100% improvement so far. To be sure, that is a great sign.
But there is one thing missing: focus. It’s probably true that most independent voters have registered as such due to a lack of alignment in focus with both major parties, so finding common ground among a group of previously disenfranchised voters might seem like a lost cause. Not when the focus in on the source of the disenfranchisment.
So, let’s get angry at the source. Let’s get angry that our local elections and the candidates running in them are corrupt. That corporations can legally dump dark money into races to influence their outcomes. That the people with the actual votes and voices are ignored, manipulated, and condescended to.
Fact: A candidate in Arizona has centered his campaign around squashing dark money in elections.
Independents can put a stop to these activities in Arizona by electing Terry Goddard to Secretary of State. One candidate may not seem impressive at first — but Goddard is running for the office that oversees of all the state’s elections. Second in power to the governor, the AZ Secretary of State race has heated up as the front runners in the Republican primary collect more and more anonymous funds from corporate interests who know that a Goddard administration would mean that their corporation’s political arms would be finally be bridled.
Nobody is trying to rid Arizona elections of all corporate money — only anonymous corporate money. Businesses will always be free to contribute according to their interests, but voters have a right to know what interests are paying for the candidates they are choosing from, and in what amounts.
Let’s take the power back from those who hide in the shadows.
Let’s make November 4, 2014 Arizona’s Independents’ Day.
header image by Donna Meyer: http://make-a-book-a-day.blogspot.com/2011/03/day-41-welcome-to-arizona-perfect.html
