(ConservativeInsider.org) – The Republican-led Arizona state legislature passed a much-needed anti-illegal immigration ballot measure that would be up for vote in November, thus bypassing the Democratic governor of the state, who had the authority to veto these measures if they were passed from the state legislature.
The ballot measure would empower law enforcement agencies to arrest illegal immigrants and deport them with the help of state judges.
The appearance of the issue on the ballot means that the liberal governor of the state, Kathie Hobbs, who is against this measure, will not be able to veto it.
Republicans hope this ballot measure will help increase turnout among conservative voters, many of whom are significantly disturbed by the rising levels of illegal immigration. Meanwhile, Democrats are portraying this ballot measure as a resurgence of the stringent 2010 border control bill to lure Latino voters who are otherwise tilting towards the GOP.
The presence of partisan issues on the ballot is likely to increase the political temperature in the already charged battleground state, where Biden won in 2020, but where Trump now leads by almost a 4% margin.
Trump also carried the state in 2016 after defeating his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
Arizona has seen a massive surge in ballot measures for the 2024 election cycle. State Democrats are also sponsoring a measure to legalize abortion up to the point of fetal viability, but this measure is still not qualified to appear on the ballot.
The GOP has also managed to certify a ballot measure aimed at incorporating voices of rural voters into citizen-led ballot initiatives.
Republicans argue that the current laws do not allow voters from some areas to have any voice in the citizen-led ballot measures and that the signature distribution requirement would help these voters realize the true potential of Democracy.
If passed, this measure would require citizens to collect signatures from all 30 legislative districts of the state to introduce their measures on the ballot, rather than only from their strongholds.
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