Arizona Proposition 200, Voter Reward Initiative (2006)

Arizona Proposition 200
Election date November 7, 2006
Topic Elections and campaigns and Lottery
Status Defeated
Type Initiated state statute	Origin Citizens

Arizona Proposition 200 was on the ballot as an initiated state statute in Arizona on November 7, 2006. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported this ballot initiative to: establish the Arizona Voter Reward Commission and award a $1,000,000 prize to an individual who votes in a primary or general election.

A "no" vote opposed this ballot initiative to: establish the Arizona Voter Reward Commission and award a $1,000,000 prize to an individual who votes in a primary or general election.

Election results

Arizona Proposition 200
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		496,641	33.38%
No		991,284	66.62%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Proposition 200 was as follows:

“

CREATING THE ARIZONA VOTER REWARD ACT AND AMENDING ARIZONA REVISED STATUTES SECTIONS 5-518 AND 5-522 RELATING TO THE ARIZONA LOTTERY COMMISSION.

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary for this measure was:

“

ESTABLISHES $1,000,000 PRIZE FOR RANDOMLY SELECTED VOTER WHO VOTES IN PRIMARY OR GENERAL ELECTION; ESTABLISHES FUNDING SOURCE OF 20% OF UNCLAIMED LOTTERY PRIZE MONEY; CREATES ARIZONA VOTER REWARD COMMISSION AND FUND AND CRITERIA FOR SELECTING WINNERS IN A PUBLIC DRAWING; REQUIRES COMMISSION SPONSORSHIP OF NONPARTISAN VOTER REGISTRATION AND TURNOUT EVENTS.

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Support

Arguments

• Mark Osterloh, Chairman of Arizonans for Voter Rewards: "Some criticize 'Voter Rewards' as being morally wrong. If that might be the case, we should look to the ultimate authority on morals and ethics. What does God say? Do what you are supposed to do and I will REWARD you with eternal life in heaven. What are we saying? Do what you are supposed to do, vote, and we will REWARD you with a chance to win a million dollars. If incentives are good enough for God, they are good enough for the voters of Arizona! There are opponents that say we are "bribing" people to vote. No, bribery is when money is given to politicians to buy influence. We are using a capitalist incentive to reward citizens for exercising their patriotic duty. Why did capitalism win out over communism? Because capitalism has incentives built into the system and communism doesn't. We incentivize high school students to study diligently with college scholarships. We incentivize employees to work hard with commissions, pay raises, bonuses and promotions. Lets do the same thing with voting. The complaint is made that the million dollar incentive will bring out the wrong people or uneducated voters. Democracy is meant to be government of ALL the people without any qualifiers such as race, creed, literacy, IQ, party affiliation or political correctness. We want every eligible citizen to vote; period! Currently, many millions of dollars are wasted on minimally effective Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) efforts. With one million dollars, which comes from the unclaimed prize fund of the Arizona Lottery, we can get everyone to the polls and all the saved GOTV money can be used to educate those voters. We will have everyone voting and educated about the issues and candidates. A true Win-Win result."

Opposition

Arguments

• Kevin G. Rogers, President of Arizona Farm Bureau, and James W. Klinker, Chief Administrative Officer of Arizona Farm Bureau: "Voting is a right and a privilege – not a chance at the lottery. The prospects of a million dollar prize for voting may entice more voters to the polls, but our democracy deserves more. It requires an informed citizenry, rather than people voting only to possibly win a lottery. For all who have sacrificed, so that we might enjoy the blessings of liberty, we believe it sullies the process to lure voters with financial rewards."

Path to the ballot

See also: Signature requirements for ballot measures in Arizona

In Arizona, the number of signatures required for an initiated state statute is equal to 10 percent of the votes cast at the preceding gubernatorial election.

See also

2006 Measures

• 2006 Measures
• Lottery on the ballot
• Elections and campaigns on the ballot
• 2006 legislative sessions

Arizona

• Arizona ballot measures
• Arizona ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Arizona Voter Guide (2006)