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by Sandy Bahr...
It is no coincidence that countries and portions of countries, including here in the United States, where democracy is under fire and not functioning, are also places where there are huge issues with air and water quality. When people don’t have a voice, the environment, the climate, and people’s health suffers. That is why Sierra Club’s work at the Arizona Legislature has long included actions to protect voting rights and the right to initiative and referendum.
Over the years, Arizona has enacted important positive changes that have made it easier for people to vote, including the Permanent Early Voting List and no excuses early voting meaning you can vote early just because you want to do so. Additional opportunities for early voting via the mail or at voting centers were added. What has been the result? More people voting! With more people voting, more people are elected who are concerned about environmental protection and there is more accountability with the ones who do not. There is now a serious effort to curb unfettered groundwater pumping and irresponsible development.
Without the citizen initiative process, we would never have had the Heritage Fund to help fund programs for nongame wildlife and provide funding for parks, trails, and cultural resource protection. Without the citizen initiative process, there would not have been an increase in the minimum wage or limits on activities by industrial agriculture or even banning cockfighting everywhere and leghold traps on public lands. Direct democracy has made an important difference in Arizona.
Unfortunately, due to conspiracy theories around the 2020 and 2022 elections, the Arizona Legislature has sought to put more limits on early voting. There is no longer a Permanent Early Voting List and this year at the Capitol, there have been numerous attempts to get rid of voting centers and also no excuses early voting, meaning you would have to meet certain conditions to vote early. Curbing early voting disproportionately affects people who work long hours, students, and people in rural areas, especially Indigenous communities. Likewise, eliminating voting centers affects those same populations more.
Legislators have already made ballot measures more difficult and are also seeking to further limit them, so the people have less opportunity to hold them in check and go directly to the ballot if the legislature ignores important issues. There have even been numerous bills introduced to limit opportunities to establish active management areas and irrigation non-expansion areas where there are at least some limits relative to groundwater pumping.
Sierra Club is part of the Voting Rights Coalition, a large coalition of organizations that is working hard to protect democracy. We speak up and encourage our members and supporters to do the same. Our air, our water, our health, our climate, and especially future generations are counting on us to keep intact democratic processes that allow for maximum participation, including by people–predominantly people of color and those with lower incomes–who have generally been disenfranchised and have also suffered the worst of environmental degradation.
To learn more and get involved in our legislative work, contact Sandy Bahr at sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org