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Hurricane Helene death toll tops 200 as search and rescue efforts continue in North Carolina, community health centers in Florida struggle to serve patients as storm recovery strains resources, a new program offers Ohioans relief from medical debt, and voter advocacy groups say poor maintenance has led to inaccurate voter rolls in Indiana.

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Biden voices concerns over Israeli strikes on Iran, Special Counsel Jack Smith details Trump's pre-January 6 pressure on Pence, Indiana's voter registration draws scrutiny, and a poll shows politics too hot to talk about for half of Wisconsinites.

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Cheap milk comes at a cost for residents of Washington's Lower Yakima Valley, Indigenous language learning is promoted in Wisconsin as experts warn half the world's languages face extinction, and Montana's public lands are going to the dogs!

AZ holds its PPE, bipartisan group renews calls for more competition

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Tuesday, March 19, 2024   

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their respective party's candidate. What's known as Arizona's "PPE" is paid for by taxpayers.

Chuck Coughlin, treasurer with Make Elections Fair Arizona, said the largest portion of the state's electorate is made up of voters who aren't affiliated with a political party. That means almost 1.4 million people can't exercise their voting rights today, although they might have a chance to vote to change this in November.

"When we were drafting our initiative, we thought we should fix that, and so we have. In the initiative, we require anyone to be able to request a ballot. So, if you're an unaffiliated voter, you can request a Republican or Democratic ballot and participate in the process," Coughlin said.

The PPE is not a primary election, according to the Citizens Clean Elections Commission. And it's important to note that independent voters can vote in the primary election in July.

For today's PPE, polls are open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. Coughlin said their initiative has already gathered over 200,000 signatures of the 500,000 they'll need by June to get it onto the November ballot.

Coughlin contends as the weather in Arizona improves, so will signature gathering. He said they've expanded their petition-gathering locations and is confident they can meet their goal. He added Make Elections Fair Arizona is looking to also grow its volunteer network to help get those signatures, and said the goal of the initiative is to increase competition within the political sphere.

"So, what we're doing here is requiring a competitive General Election - so, having an open primary that allows anybody to compete under the same rules promotes competition. So better ideas, better candidates, better outcomes," he explained.

The group is holding an Arizona Democracy Summit in Phoenix on Saturday, March 23, a free event open to all. Coughlin said local and national election experts will be there to not only discuss Arizona's election system problems, but proposed solutions as well.

Disclosure: Make Elections Fair AZ contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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