It seems nowadays, the only ones who want to raise taxes are the government and far-left elites. That shouldn’t come as a big surprise. They’ll do whatever it takes to further their radical agenda—especially when their bank accounts go unaffected. But in a country that’s supposed to be governed by representation, too many tax increases in America—including right here in Arizona—are coming down to a simple majority.
Of course, we just saw this at the federal level when the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” passed on a 51-50 vote in the Senate thanks, in large part, to Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema. Now, because of the slimmest majorities along party lines, taxpayers are left with a $700 billion repackaged version of President Biden’s Build Back Broke plan.
But this issue isn’t limited to the federal government, Congress, or even state legislatures. Just look at what happened with Prop 208 in 2020. This disastrous piece of legislation, which was pushed by out-of-state special interest groups, passed with only 51% of people voting for it. And it would’ve turned Arizona into a high tax state had it not been for the court system killing it once and for all.
Allowing 51% of the population (who probably don’t have to pay the tax increase) to vote to tax the other 49% to pay it, is wrong. And while today’s tax increase may not affect you, tomorrow’s most certainly will.
Introduced as HCR2015 by Rep. Tim Dunn (R-LD13), Prop 132 would require a 60% majority vote of the people on any ballot measure that wants to raise your taxes. Requiring broader support like this puts a check on out-of-state special interests who want to increase Arizona’s taxes to fund their schemes. This already happens in our state legislature where any tax increase requires a super majority. It’s only fair that voters have the same safeguard at the ballot box. We’re a representative government, and if we are asking Arizonans to part with more of their paycheck, it needs to be for something that has broad agreement from every part of the state.
After all, the reality is that at some point, you will be on the wrong end of a close vote. You will be in the minority. Crafting tax policy at the ballot box in this manner only creates class warfare and a tax code of winners and losers.
But it’s not even just about your wallet. These policies harm Arizona’s economy too. Thankfully, we avoided the Prop 208 tax that would have crushed small businesses in our state. But there will be more efforts like it to turn Arizona into a high-tax state like New York or California—the latter having driven away thousands of businesses from the state because of its taxes. In fact, California’s taxes and woke policies got so bad, the state actually ran out of one-way U-hauls!
This isn’t what the people of Arizona want. And it’s not what the people of Arizona deserve. Now, you have the opportunity to make your voice heard. Protect your wallet, and protect Arizona’s economy this November. VOTE YES on Proposition 132.
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We have always known that the left is strongly opposed to election integrity. In their hearts, they want voting to resemble how they select the best performers on American Idol—no security, no ID, no paper ballots, and no concern if someone decides to vote a few extra times.
Usually though, the left is pretty good at not saying this out loud. They couch their desires as supporting “voter access” or “expanded voting rights.” Very rarely do they reveal their true intentions of supporting open fraud in the system—yet they have now. And in open court no less.
Earlier this week, Russiagate hoax lawyer Marc Elias (Hillary Clinton’s old consigliere) filed a lawsuit challenging SB1260. Sponsored by Senator J.D. Mesnard, SB1260 is a simple but critical election integrity measure to prevent duplicate voter registrations. It requires county recorders to cancel the registrations of individuals who have since moved to and registered to vote in another county or state. For example, if you live and are registered to vote in Yavapai County, and then move to and register to vote in Maricopa County, SB1260 requires the Yavapai County Recorder to cancel your old registration.
Unsurprisingly, as with all commonsense measures that make it easy to vote and hard to cheat, Elias took issue with it. Not because, as they assert in other cases, the bill is unnecessary and there isn’t a problem with voter rolls. No, to the contrary, they admit that “having multiple registrations is legal and common.”
That’s not just one line in their lawsuit. It’s a central part of their argument. They reiterate it several times throughout their complaint, arguing that “to be registered to vote in more than one state or in more than one county in Arizona” is “quite common.”
Interestingly, they then make the argument, as they do in their challenges to the other election integrity measures, that SB1260 is not justified by any legitimate state interest. But the Elias lawyers themselves are arguing the state interest: the fact that it is “quite common” for someone to be a registered voter in multiple counties and states at any given time.
Even further, their argument in this case justifies the legitimate state interest of another Arizona election integrity measure, HB2243, that they have dragged into court. HB2243 revived a bill that had been vetoed by Governor Ducey, HB2617, which was sponsored by Representative Joseph Chaplik to ensure we have comprehensive and routine voter roll maintenance requirements to ensure only eligible voters are on our rolls.
Why is HB2243 necessary? We’ll let the Elias lawyers answer that in their suit against SB1260:
“People do not ordinarily think to affirmatively cancel their voter registration when they move, and there often is no obvious or easy way to do so. Nor is there any assurance that a jurisdiction will actually cancel a voter’s registration immediately upon receiving a request.”
Their argument in opposition to the new law is precisely why the law is needed! Having accurate voter rolls is imperative to conducting an election with integrity in which the electorate has confidence. Inaccurate voter rolls lead to ballots being sent to people who no longer live here, reducing confidence and creating the opportunity for bad actors to commit fraud.
And although, as the Elias lawyers argue, inaccurate voter rolls are often because of forgetfulness on behalf of voters who move from one state to another without thinking about cancelling their registration, this new lawsuit outlines exactly why bills like SB1260 and HB2243 were two of the most important pieces of election integrity legislation to pass this year, and exactly why voter roll maintenance is the first step in securing our elections.
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Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
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Phoenix, AZ – Today the Arizona Free Enterprise Club announced their first slate of General Election endorsements for 2022.
The endorsed individuals align with the organization’s principles and key policy goals. Club President Scot Mussi stated, “It is a critical time in our country and in our state. We need fighters who will take on the Left’s agenda that is crippling our economy, harming our children, and infringing on our Constitutional rights.These Club endorsed individuals will do just that. We encourage voters to support these candidates who will defend free market principles, advance conservative values, protect our border, and combat federal overreach here in Arizona and in Washington, D.C. This slate of candidates has proven they can and will.”
Statewide
Governor
Kari Lake
Secretary of State
Attorney General
Mark Finchem
Abe Hamadeh
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Corporation Commission
Tom Horne
Nick Myers
Kevin Thompson
Federal
U.S. Senate
Blake Masters
CD 1
CD 2
CD 4
David Schweikert
Eli Crane
Kelly Cooper
CD 5
CD 6
CD 8
Andy Biggs
Juan Ciscomani
Debbie Lesko
CD 9
Paul Gosar
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
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Over the past two months, the Arizona Free Enterprise Club has announced its candidate endorsements for the 2022 election.
These candidates represent individuals that share our values and commitment to a free and prosperous Arizona. Club President Scot Mussi stated, “It is critical that Arizona elects leaders and policymakers who are able to articulate and stand up for individual liberties, free market policies, and conservative values. We believe that these candidates are up to the challenge.”
Below is a summary of the candidates we have endorsed to date.
Arizona State Legislature
LD 1
LD 2
LD 3
Senate: Steve Zipperman
House: Pierce Waychoff
House: Joseph Chaplik
House: Judy Burges
House: Christian Lamar
LD 4
LD 7
LD 9
Senate: Nancy Barto
House: John Fillmore
Senate: Rob Scantlebury
House: Vera Gebran
House: David Marshall
House: Kathy Pearce
House: Maria Syms
House: Mary Ann Mendoza
LD 10
LD 12
LD 13
Senate: David Farnsworth
Senate: Suzanne Sharer
Senate: JD Mesnard
House: Barbara Parker
House: Julie Willoughby
House: Justin Heap
LD14
LD 15
LD 16
Senate: Warren Petersen
Senate: Jake Hoffman
House: Rob Hudelson
House: Travis Grantham
House: Jacqueline Parker
House: Laurin Hendrix
House: Neal Carter
LD 17
LD 19
LD 23
House: Cory McGarr
House: Gail Griffin
Senate: Gary Snyder
House: Rachel Jones
House: Lupe Diaz
House: Michele Pena (Write-in)
LD 25
LD 27
LD 28
House: Michael Carbone
Senate: Anthony Kern
House: Beverly Pingerelli
House: Tim Dunn
House: Ben Toma
House: Susan Black
LD 29
LD 30
Senate: Janae Shamp
House: Leo Biasiucci
House: Steve Montenegro
House: Austin Smith
Local City and Town Council
Chandler
Payson
Fountain Hills
Darla Gonzalez
Tom Morrissey (Mayor)
Brenda Kalivianakis
Farhana Shifa
Allen Skillicorn
Hannah Toth
Peoria
Gilbert
Queen Creek
Jason Beck (Mayor)
Jim Torgeson
Travis Padilla
Mario Chicas
Bobbi Buchli
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
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Phoenix, AZ – The Arizona Free Enterprise Club filed a lawsuit on Friday to challenge the validity of a radical initiative that seeks to:
Upend Arizona’s election administration and voter registration laws.
Sharply reduce candidate contribution limits while channeling more taxpayer subsidies to so-called “Clean Elections” candidates.
Curtail safeguards governing the initiative and referendum process.
Impose new taxes.
The complaint contends that well over half of the signatures on the election initiative were gathered illegally. And it includes evidence of the illegally collected signatures along with proof that many of the initiative’s paid circulators provided false information or failed to register with the Secretary of State.
“After analyzing over 45,000 petition sheets and 420,000 signatures, it’s clear that well over half of the signatures on this election initiative were collected in violation of state law,” said Club President Scot Mussi. “That should be more than enough to invalidate this initiative.”
The complaint requests that the court disqualify any signatures collected illegally or by individuals who were not properly registered with the Secretary of State at the time the signatures were gathered.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
Join our FREE Grassroots Action List to stay up to date on the latest battles against big government and how YOU can help influence crucial bills at the Arizona State Legislature.
Last week, the Biden Administration officially filed a lawsuit against Arizona over HB2492, which bolsters safeguards to our voter registration process to require proof of citizenship ensuring only U.S. citizens are voting in our elections.
To many, it sounds absurd. Not HB2492, but the revelation that in Arizona, and in every state in the country, people are registering to vote and voting without ever providing proof of citizenship.
You can find out how this happened and how we went from rejecting all voter registration applications without (Documentary Proof of Citizenship) DPOC in 2005 to registering all individuals, whether they used our own state form or the federal form, as “Federal Only Voters” here.
Thankfully, back in March HB2492, sponsored by Representative Jake Hoffman, was signed into law. It was the first election integrity bill to pass out of the legislature, and the first signed. In short, HB2492 cracks down on state voter registration forms submitted without DPOC, requires counties to attempt to ascertain the citizenship status for those who utilize the federal form, and, importantly, makes proof of citizenship a requirement to vote by mail and to vote for President. A full breakdown of the bill can be found here.
This was one of the most critical and impactful election integrity reforms of the legislative session. And that can be seen from the two lawsuits filed within hours of it being signed, one coming from Democrat Russiagate hoax lawyer Marc Elias, and both on behalf of liberal nonprofit organizations. It becomes clearer from the third lawsuit filed last month from another leftist group, and now with this case, officially USA v. Arizona, coming from Biden.
These lawsuits all make nearly identical claims and arguments, all of which are flawed, because HB2492 is well crafted and stands on strong constitutional reasoning.
HB2492 requires counties to reject state voter registration forms that are submitted without proof of citizenship, which the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed our authority to do in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.: “States retain the flexibility to design and use their own registration forms.”
HB2492 requires counties to reject federal voter registration forms if, after checking the various databases HB2492 requires them to review, they find that the person is not a U.S. citizen. Justice Scalia wrote that the NVRA “does not preclude States from ‘deny[ing] registration based on information in their possession establishing the applicant’s ineligibility.” So yet again, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed our power to do this.
HB2492 makes proof of citizenship a requirement to vote for President and by mail in any election. The Electors Clause of the U.S. Constitution grants plenary authority to state legislatures over the manner of appointing presidential electors. While this argument has not been made to the courts, once again the plain text of the U.S. Constitution is consistent with the requirements of HB2492.
The misguided lawsuits also attack HB2492’s requirement to include place of birth on the registration form, oblivious to the fact that it is currently on the Arizona voter registration form, which was created by Democrat Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. Also ignoring that it was actually the Election Assistance Commission who recommended obtaining place of birth to help verify citizenship status.
The reality is that these are flawed lawsuits against a commonsense bill. Instead of wasting time and taxpayer dollars in court, the Biden administration should actually be securing our border, protecting states like ours from an invasion of illegal immigrants. Instead, they are trying to stop necessary election reforms that make it easy to vote and hard to cheat and protect our elections from the hundreds of thousands of people illegally crossing into our country each day under their watch.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
Join our FREE Grassroots Action List to stay up to date on the latest battles against big government and how YOU can help influence crucial bills at the Arizona State Legislature.
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