Campaign To Block Tax Cuts Hires Signature-Gatherers Ahead Of September Deadline

Arizona Mirror

The Invest in Arizona coalition seeking to let voters decide the fate of a massive tax-cut package approved by Republican lawmakers this year has ramped up hiring of paid circulators to gather signatures ahead of a deadline that is less than two weeks away.

In order to force a public vote in 2022 on three new laws lauded by Gov. Doug Ducey as “the single largest tax cut in Arizona history” from taking effect, the campaign must collect at least 118,823 valid signatures by Sept. 28.

The coalition has three signature gathering firms with paid employees out in the field boosting their volunteer efforts: Fieldworks, a Washington-D.C. based group; Sand Hill Associates, a South Dakota company; and Phoenix-based La Machine Consulting, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s database of paid circulators.

The bulk of the paid signature-gatherers are contracted with Fieldworks, the records show.

The number of paid signature gatherers for each of the three referendum campaigns has grown steadily over time. In July, when the effort began, there were about 45. By August, that number jumped to more than 150. Now there are about 200 paid circulators for each initiative.

“The uptick in activity gives us extreme confidence that we are going to be able to get this win for kids in Arizona,” said Beth Lewis, the president of Save Our Schools AZ, a teacher-led movement born in 2018 to increase funding of public schools.

Lewis said her group is mainly managing the volunteer efforts to gather signatures, and is relying on its statewide network of teachers, parents and allies of public schools to get the three measures on the 2022 ballot.

“We’re really excited to see the tremendous energy on the volunteer side, we have so many parents and teachers who are involved and continue to get and stay involved,” Lewis said. “It’s been a joy to see that people are working in this heat to protect our schools and keep a billion dollars in our classrooms.”

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