Republican voters have been receiving a very misleading robo call concerning Prop 121. The Republican party is NOT supporting 121, and say that are playing “dirty politics”.
Prop 121, the Open or Jungle Primary initiative is opposed by both parties. However, the robo call which was directed toward Republican voters, claimed that the Party support the measure.
Republicans are asking party members to advise others about the scam.
Here’s the text of the robo call:
“Tired of dirty politics, let’s clean things up with Prop 121. The top two open elections, open government initiative. 121 is supported by Republicans because it will help combat politicians who overspend and add to our deficit. That’s why the Democratic Party and Liberal politicians oppose it. Vote yes on Prop 121. Paid for by Open Government Committee supporting Prop 121. Major funding by Greater Phoenix Leadership, Professional Fire Fighters of AZ, International Association of Firefighters (an out of state contributor), Cali-companies Inc .”
The “two-tier” or “jungle primary” system would have required candidates for office from both parties to run in a single primary.
The Arizona Legislative Council had advised legislators that the “The proposition leaves to future Legislatures and governing bodies a number of issues, including who will have access to the statewide voter database, how vacancies will be handled, what percentage of votes will be set each year as the number of petition signatures required by each candidate for each office to qualify for the ballot, how to pay for the two tier election and how to pay for the cost of implementation and conforming legislation.”
The Arizona Latino Republican Association, the largest conservative Latino organization in the state, has announced its opposition to the “jungle” or “top 2” primary system. “If approved this primary system would not only replicate the low voter turnout seen in California when they first instituted a system of this type, but repress the Latino vote and Latino candidates from coming forward to represent their communities,” said one ALRA member. “In short, this is a power grab by Democrats in a state where they don’t have the numbers to win honestly. They are attempting to steal the state which they cannot earn in a legitimate election and therefore have to create new ways of manipulating the outcomes of elections.”