Oppose HB2009: Protect Arizona's Direct Democracy Rights

I urge you to oppose HB2009, scheduled for consideration in the House Federalism, Military Affairs and Elections Committee this Wednesday. This bill, sponsored by Representative Nickolas Kupper, threatens Arizona's constitutional right to direct democracy under the guise of election security. HB2009 would prohibit organizers of ballot measures amending the Arizona Constitution from accepting contributions from foreign nationals and impose burdensome paperwork requirements. Additionally, it mandates disclaimers on all materials if organizers receive more than 20 percent of funding from outside Arizona. These provisions create unnecessary barriers to the citizen initiative process that has been fundamental to Arizona governance for over a century. The Federal Election Commission has already determined that the type of contributions this bill targets are legal. The legislation appears designed to address a single wealthy Wyoming resident with Swiss citizenship who supports progressive ballot initiatives, rather than any genuine threat to election integrity. This is model legislation from the America First Policy Institute, not a response to actual problems facing Arizona voters. The 20 percent out-of-state funding threshold is particularly troubling. Many legitimate policy organizations, advocacy groups, and concerned citizens from across the country contribute to ballot measures in states where they have interests or connections. Requiring special disclaimers stigmatizes this constitutionally protected activity and could discourage participation in the initiative process. Arizona voters have successfully used the initiative process to address issues ranging from education funding to healthcare access when the legislature has failed to act. HB2009 would make it significantly harder for grassroots organizations to gather the resources needed to qualify measures for the ballot, effectively limiting which voices can participate in direct democracy based on their funding sources rather than the merit of their ideas. I ask you to vote no on HB2009 and protect Arizonans' ability to participate fully in our state's initiative process without discriminatory restrictions.