PHOENIX β Arizonans may get a chance in November to make what could be an earth-shattering change in state politics: An initiative filed Wednesday would eliminate partisan primaries.
Another initiative, also filed Wednesday to be placed on the November ballot, calls for an immediate $2-an-hour increase in the minimum wage over the next two years, on top of the current requirement for annual inflationary increases. That could bring the minimum wage up to $18 by 2026.
It is the measure on how elections are run, however, that could revamp Arizona politics for decades to come.
Elimination of partisan primaries would mean all candidates of all parties would run against each other in a bid to gain a spot on the general election ballot, with all voters of any affiliation allowed to choose.
Only the top vote-getters would advance to the general election. That could mean all the candidates could end up being Democrats, Republicans or even unaffiliated with either major party.
The change would scrap the current system, in which one party or the other holds an insurmountable voter registration edge in more than two-thirds of the legislative districts. As it is now, whoever wins the primary β often someone who appeals to the more radical elements of their party β goes on to nearly certain victory in November.
The initiative proposed for the November ballot, known as Make Elections Fair Again, would affect more than legislative races. It also would cover federal and statewide offices.
It also would override the current system in Tucson, the only city in the state with partisan local elections.
βThe Make Elections Fair Initiative eliminates voter and candidate discrimination based on party affiliation,ββ said Sarah Smallhouse, one of the prime donors to the measure. The Tucson native is president of the Thomas R. Brown Foundation, named after her father, who was a founder of the now-defunct Burr-Brown Corp.
Consider, for example, a legislative district that encompasses South Tucson and surrounding areas where Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans. As the current system plays out, the Democratic candidates need to appeal only to issues of concern to Democrats. Whoever the Democrats select in the primary are virtually certain to win in November.
Republicans are so discouraged about their chances in that district, LD 20, that theyβre not even offering a challenger to incumbent Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales. Ditto on the House side, where Democrats Alma Hernandez and Betty Villegas are running unopposed for the two House seats.
Smallhouse said an open, nonpartisan primary would give all candidates an equal chance.
βIt lets the voters choose freely,ββ she said.
The proposal also has the backing of Republican Beau Lane, who made an unsuccessful bid to be the Republican nominee for secretary of state in 2022. He lost in a Republican-only primary to Mark Finchem. When it came to the general election, Finchem lost to Democrat Adrian Fontes by more than 120,000 votes.
Lane said this is representative of what happens around the state, where candidates get nominated in partisan primaries βwhere less than 20% of voters turn out.ββ Lane, who describes himself as a βReagan Republicanββ loyal to his party, said open primaries would create an opportunity for more Republicans to win in general elections with the nomination of candidates in the primary who have broader appeal.
βI think itβs become apparent that ... on the statewide level, that our party is putting forward candidates who are unable to win and who are unable to attract sufficient amounts of independents to win an election,ββ Lane said. βThis will certainly alleviate that and allow for other candidates to rise to the top.ββ
That does not, however, guarantee that Republicans like Lane would make it to the general election.
The initiative leaves it up to the Legislature to decide how many candidates advance from the primary to the general election. It could be two Democrats, two Republicans or two from minor parties or unaffiliated.
But the measure says lawmakers would be free to allow up to five to advance to the general election. In that case, it requires use of a βranked choiceββ system where people mark their first, second, third and beyond choices, with successive tallying of ballots until someone gets 50% of the votes.
Voters will be given a chance not only to approve or reject this initiative but also to quash forever the idea of open primaries.
Republican lawmakers put their own proposed constitutional measure on the November ballot that would guarantee the right of each political party to nominate a candidate, with a guarantee that each party would be entitled to place at least one person for each open position on the general election ballot.
If both measures pass, the one with more votes wins.
Minimum wage proposal
Also filed late Wednesday with state election officials is the effort to hike the minimum wage.
Prior to 2006 employers in Arizona had to pay workers $5.15 an hour, the same as the federal minimum. A ballot measure that year raised it to $6.75, with inflationary annual increases.
In 2016, the state minimum wage had risen to $8.05. Voters again voted to increase it in steps to $12 an hour by 2020, again with future hikes linked to inflation.
It currently is $14.35 an hour; the federal minimum is $7.25.
Another inflationary increase in an amount yet to be determined will kick in automatically on Jan. 1.
The One Fair Wage Act would boost whatever that figure is by $1 on that date, with another $1 increase on Jan. 1, 2026, also above the regular inflation increase.
Restaurant owners are worried the initiative would eliminate their ability to pay workers $3 an hour less as long as their tips bring them up to the minimum. They convinced lawmakers to put a constitutional measure on the ballot.
It would not override the proposed increases in the minimum.
But it would say restaurants could pay workers 25% less than that if their take-home, with tips, reached $20 an hour.
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