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Early voting for the 2022 Arizona midterm elections.
Do you have an opinion on abortion? Ranked voting? Border security?
For $75, you can share your thoughts with almost everyone registered to vote in November.
That's all it takes to include a 300-word argument in the ballot pamphlet that will be mailed to Arizona's nearly 4 million registered voters ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
And now you might as well start thinking about what you're going to say.
Discussions will begin at noon on Monday, May 20th. They must then be submitted by June 20th at 11:59 p.m.
It's all part of a long-standing state law that allows individuals, groups and political committees to make their own recommendations to voters on ballot issues. The Secretary of State's Office will then mail these to each head of household that has at least one registered voter, one for her.
It all starts with your website. First, select the issue you want to comment on. As for the rest, it's pretty easy. Simply follow the instructions, enter up to 300 words of what you want to say, fill out the rest of the form, and pay $75 online with your credit card when prompted.
What you do with those 300 words is largely up to you.
The Secretary of State's Office does not edit content. This means that any typos will remain. Therefore, please calibrate carefully.
However, the agency said it may seek legal advice before printing arguments that include several four-letter words not normally used in polite conversation.
But pretty much everything else, whether it actually pertains to voting measures or not, is within limits.
There is no need to include a voting number such as “Prop. 100.” If left blank, the office will fill it in when the final number is assigned.
There are restrictions.
You are free to use bold or italics for emphasis on this website, but the use of bold or italics is not permitted.
Also, we only accept online submissions. Forget typing or printing anything at home and just show up at the Secretary of State's office with a piece of paper and $75.
If you have a lot to say and money to spend, there is no limit to the number of ballot arguments you can submit on an issue or issues. Just submit the $75 fee.
Six bills already referred by Congress will be included in the vote.
Lawmakers are considering at least two more items, one related to border security and another related to changes to election law.
Additionally, several organizations collecting signatures plan to submit a petition.
But here's the problem.
Just because a group petitions to put something on the ballot doesn't mean it will actually be on the ballot in November. It is possible that it will turn out that there are not enough signatures by the July 3 deadline, two weeks after the hearing date. Alternatively, it may be removed through a court challenge.
In both cases, you're just out of luck and end up spending $75. There are no refunds.
Conversely, if lawmakers add measures to the ballot after the June 20 deadline, the Secretary of State's Office will reopen the portal to accept new comments.
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