How do you vote? Some people vote down party lines either Democrat or Republican as seen during the last state legislative session. Some people vote based on issues and call themselves Independents. I love this great nation and the freedom to vote based on our beliefs but at times when the election occurs, it can be overwhelming sifting through campaign mailers, watching commercials and receiving phone calls. Not many of us have the time to research an incumbent’s voting record so some of us rely on the Arizona Republic’s version of the he said she said debate instead. With the latest snafu in the state budget, we now want to know more.
It wasn’t until I became active in my party district that I realized how convoluted the law-making process really was and how far state representatives from the majority party will go to defend their beliefs although it is uncertain if their beliefs are shared among their voters. I recently heard that Arizona voters would be willing to pay a higher tax if the revenue gained was designated strictly for public education and for good reason. For the past six months, we have seen teacher lay offs, classroom size increase and for Tempe, an absolute need to repurpose Evans Elementary to address declining enrollment within our school district. Any parent should be mortified because the GOP has clearly sent a message to all voters that our children’s education is expendable to preserve business tax breaks like the state equalization tax repeal reflected on both Governor Brewer and the GOP’s FY2010 budget. How did it get this far?
In essence, all bills including the ones crammed into an estimated 24-hour session on the last day in June, have to go through a first read depending on where it originated from either the House or Senate if only to be identified. Then they are routed through assigned committees and read during a second read if passed either in its original form or with amendments. After another go around passing by the majority vote through a whole new slew of committees, the bill is up for a third and final read and put to a vote by all members of the House or Senate depending on where it originated from and can include additional amendments. If passed by a majority vote, then the bill is kicked across the capitol courtyard for consideration. It’s a pretty lengthy process hence a traditional 90-day legislative session.
And yet, this time even if you wanted to follow along, it was too late. Strike everything amendments a.k.a. “strikers” took over and what you thought was being put to a vote was most likely something else. It’s no wonder voters feel shafted because the bills presented and voted on during the late hours of June 30 had no transparency to them let alone follow a due process. While the Democrats sat waiting along with Governor Brewer, the GOP’s budget was stashed away held for ransom only to be unleashed in its final hour the last day of the fiscal year. In the meantime, your school districts are anxious to pass a budget contingent on the negotiations between the state legislature and Governor Brewer with only one month remaining before school starts.
The way the GOP has behaved should have you concerned and shopping for a better candidate to represent your legislative district because come November of next year, it is their hope that you will forget this ever happened. In fact, they’re banking on it, literally, with the possibility of eliminating clean elections. So if you’re a voter that votes along party lines and happen to vote Republican, you may want to reconsider. If you’re an Independent only considering who would best represent the issues, look further beyond eye-catching colors and bold-faced print because who you chose may not have your best interests in mind. Vote in the primaries because your vote could swing an entire district for the worse.
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