Political Buzz
posted by Andrea Kelly
Republicans still claim the largest party registration in the state, with a little more than a third of the registered voters here joining the party.
Democrats and independents come in just under a third of the state's voters, while Libertarians and Greens still claim less than 1 percent of the registered voters in Arizona.
Total voter registration fell in Pima County after the 2010 election, and all parties have lost ground with voters here in that time. The only category of registered voters that grew in Pima County since November 2010 was "other," including people who select no party or independent on their voter registration forms.
Pima County voter registration:
Democrats 182,707
Republicans 148,823
Other 143,602
Libertarians 3,830
Greens 1,242
Voter registration statewide:
Republicans 35 percent
Democrats 31 percent
Other 33 percent
Libertarians less than 1 percent
Greens less than 1 percent
July 26th 2011 at 8:45 —
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posted by Andrea Kelly
Arizona's Independent Redistricting Commission wants to hear from you, even though the part of their work most voters are likely interested in — the new map of voting districts — isn't yet available.
The Commission is holding public hearings throughout the state (find the dates and agendas here) to find out what people want to see in the new districts. The idea is to get some feedback before drawing the map, to incorporate those comments into the mapping process, said Ray Bladine, the commission's executive director.
Another round of public hearings will be scheduled this fall a draft of the map is available, Bladine said. The commission then hopes to get the map to the U.S. Justice Department in November. The department must approve the map before the new districts are official.
All of this needs to be finished before the 2012 election.
July 25th 2011 at 15:45 —
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posted by Andrea Kelly
The Americans Elect Party is the newest political party in Arizona.
The party joins the Democrat, Green, Libertarian and Republican parties, and means candidates can be officially recognized on the ballot.
To become an official party, the group had to collect 23,041 signatures from voters in the state, including from each of the 15 counties in Arizona. The Secretary of State's office verified the signatures this week.
"Americans Elect is the first-ever open nominating process. We're using the Internet to give every single voter—Democrat, Republican or independent—the power to nominate a presidential ticket in 2012. The people will choose the issues. The people will choose the candidates. And in a secure, online convention next June, the people will make history by putting their choice on the ballot in every state," says the Americans Elect website.
July 21st 2011 at 9:41 —
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posted by Andrea Kelly
The voter registration deadline is approaching for those who want to vote in Tucson's upcoming primary election. The deadline to register is Aug. 1 The primary election is Aug. 30.
The entire election is by mail this year, so those who need to update their mailing address must also do so by Aug. 1. That will ensure they receive a ballot in time to vote and mail it back to the city to be counted.
Tucson's west side ward one has two Democrats running, Joe Flores is challenging incumbent Regina Romero. Two Democrats are also running write-in campaigns to challenge the party's mayoral candidate, Jonathan Rothschild.
Wards two and four are also up for election this year, but they do not have primary races. The incumbent Democrats in those east side wards will face Republican challengers in the November general election.
July 20th 2011 at 9:42 —
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posted by Christopher Conover
According to campaign finance reports for the last quarter, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has nearly $780,000 on hand. Her campaign raised more than $280,000 in the last three months. About half of the money came from individual donors with the balance coming from political action committees.
Giffords, who was shot on January 8th, still has not announced whether or not she is running for reelection. She does not have to legally make that decision until May.
July 15th 2011 at 13:49 —
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posted by Christopher Conover
Jerry Lewis is a conservative Republican from Mesa and according to Channel 12 in Phoenix he is set to take on Senate President Russell who is up for a recall election. Lewis, who is a political new comer, is an accountant and charter school official in Mesa. Like Senator Pearce he is also Mormon.
Senate President Pearce is the first elected official in Arizona to face a recall vote in 100 years. Opponents gathered more than 10 thousand signatures to force the recall.
July 15th 2011 at 13:43 —
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