Initiative and Referendum Measures Arizona's Constitution puts legislative power not only in a House of Representatives and Senate, but in the people themselves.
Initiative This means that Arizona voters have the ability to propose laws or constitutional amendments or changes to laws or the Constitution through the initiative process. To propose such changes, the proponents must file an application with the Secretary of State, including a summary of the measure and the complete text that is proposed to be submitted to a vote of the people. If sufficient signatures are gathered, the Proposition will be placed on the general election ballot.
Referendum Not only do Arizona voters have the ability to propose laws, they may also circulate a petition against a measure or part of a measure approved by the Legislature. As with initiative measures, to propose such changes, the proponents must file an application with the Secretary of State, including a summary of the proposal and the text of the measure or portion of the measure that is proposed to be submitted to a vote of the people. If sufficient signatures are gathered, the Proposition will be placed on the general election ballot.
NUMBERING OF BALLOT MEASURES
State law requires that ballot measures be numbered according to four criteria:
100 Constitutional amendments, whether initiated by the people or referred by the Legislature, are numbered in the 100s.
200 Citizen initiatives to create new or amend current state laws (statutes) are numbered in the 200s.
300 Legislative referrals to create new or amend current statutes are numbered in the 300s.
400 Local matters are numbered in the 400s.
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© September 2014
