Arizona GOP blasted for escalating their war on democracy with bid to put minority rule in the Constitution

Republicans in Arizona received harsh criticism on Monday for an effort to enshrine minority rule in the state's Constitution.

"After two months of watching our leaders hard at work at the state Capitol, I've come to a sad (but not terribly startling) conclusion: The Arizona Legislature doesn't really like us very much. Either that, or the Republicans that run the joint are just plain scared of the citizens of this state," Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts explained.

"Not only are they busy passing bill after bill to make it more difficult to vote — clearly payback for sending Democrats to the White House and the Senate in 2020 — they also are working to make it harder for us to exercise our constitutional right to make laws at the ballot box."

Roberts listed a number of bills pushed by Republicans and noted that, "easily the most obnoxious of the bills is a proposal to require a supermajority to pass any future ballot initiative or referendum."

"HCR 2016 would require that any citizen-generated ballot proposal receive 55% of the vote rather than the simple majority required here and in every other state where citizens have initiative and referendum power," Roberts explained. "The bill's sponsor, Rep. Tim Dunn, a Yuma Republican who initially proposed a 60% requirement, seems to think we are easily duped and thus a simple majority of us can't be trusted to get it right."

The Constitution Referendum would need to be ratified by voters during the next general election.

"It likely comes as no surprise that Proposition 208, boosting the income tax on the state's wealthiest residents to raise money for public education, passed with just under 52% of the vote in November. It also likely comes as no surprise that neither Dunn nor anyone else at the Capitol has proposed raising the vote threshold for electing state legislators," she explained. "Or for passing bills once they get to the Capitol."

The columnist predicted "voters won't be dumb enough to fall for it."