Many agree that getting abortion rights on the ballot is good for protecting our bodies and our rights. Most also agree that it’s a great issue for Democrats.
This diary isn’t especially original, but as we say (often) in the GNR, repetition is good! Besides, this will be updated as new information comes in. And we’ll try to get out explicit information about where to sign.
As we’re waiting for election season to get going, this is what you can do. If you live in the state being featured, make sure you sign. If you don’t, but know people in the state being featured, try to get them to sign.
This diary is dedicated to Arizona, which has a deadline of July 3, 2024 to get it on the ballot.
The group Arizona for Abortion Access has a website where you can sign up to volunteer to collect signatures, or, equally as important, be notified when there is a petition that you can sign nearby.
Here’s what they say on their “About Us” page:
There are many reasons why someone may decide to have an abortion. But no matter how you personally feel about abortion, every person should be able to make their own decisions with their healthcare provider and those they love and trust.
Arizona for Abortion Access is a coalition of reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations working to ensure Arizonans can make the decisions that are best for them and their families — free from government interference. This ballot committee is supported by the ACLU of Arizona, Affirm Sexual and Reproductive Health, Arizona List, Healthcare Rising Arizona, NARAL Arizona, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona. Together, these organizations represent hundreds of thousands of Arizonans in every community and from every walk of life.
These trusted institutions have worked extensively together protecting and expanding abortion access over the years. They have now partnered to begin collecting signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the November 2024 ballot. This amendment will protect abortion access in Arizona and ensure every person can make this deeply personal decision with dignity.
People are encouraged to volunteer to collect signatures — or to donate; all organizations like donations! — but they also let you know where you can sign if you want to simply sign:
If you would like to pick up petitions to collect signatures, or if you’d like to sign the petition, please visit one of the locations below. All petition circulators MUST complete training before collecting signatures — you can find training opportunities on Mobilize here.
- Healthcare Rising Arizona office number: 602-354-8829
- Healthcare Rising Arizona office address and hours: 7776 S. Pointe Parkway Suite 170, Phoenix, AZ 85044; Monday-Friday: 8 AM – 5 PM, closed for lunch 1-2 PM. Closed weekends.
- AZ List office number: 520-327-0520
- AZ List office address and hours: 2720 E. Broadway Blvd. Tucson, AZ 85716; Tuesday-Friday: 10 AM – 12 PM; Friday: 3 PM – 6 PM; Saturday: 9 AM – 11 AM
- AZ List Tucson office address and hours: 2720 E. Broadway Blvd. Tucson, AZ 85716; Tuesday-Friday: 10 AM – 12 PM; Friday: 3 PM – 6 PM; Saturday: 9 AM – 12 PM
- AZ List Central Phoenix Office: Monday – Friday 10 AM to 3 PM (call for address)
Note that when I was in Tucson in October, I signed by going to the Pima County Democratic Headquarters.
Here’s some more background:
12 states where the fate of abortion rights could be on the ballot in 2024 Amy B Wang, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Washington Post, published Dec 20, 2023 (I tried to make this a gift article). Here’s some of what they write about Arizona:
The initiative: Arizona for Abortion Access, a coalition of abortion rights advocates, is behind a proposed ballot measure that would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution.
State of play: The campaign in Arizona has been endorsed by numerous reproductive health and civil rights groups, including the ACLU of Arizona, and the state chapters of Planned Parenthood Advocates and Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL). The campaign must submit 383,923 valid signatures by July 3 to appear on the 2024 ballot. In Arizona, a simple majority is required to pass a ballot measure.
The politics: Arizona is a battleground state that will be critical in the 2024 election cycle. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) announced last year that she was leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent, complicating the thin Senate majority of Democrats. She is being challenged for reelection next year by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D) and Republican Kari Lake, who unsuccessfully ran for Arizona governor last year. Having an abortion measure on the ballot is likely to boost voter turnout, but it is unclear which Senate candidate would benefit. In 2020, Biden won Arizona by only 0.30 percentage points, becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate to win there since 1996
Do you have more to add? Please do so in the comments and I will update the diary.
Thanks! Let’s make a difference in 2024!
🐦 I do a lot of other writing. A recent offering: the Crow Nickels (chronicles), a trilogy about crows who want to save birdkind from extinction: Hunters of the Feather is the first. Other stories,based on Jane Austen novels — such as The Meryton Murders — and others, based on history and Greek mythology, such as Jocasta:The Mother-Wife of Oedipus, can be found here. All titles are available as paperbacks, as regular Kindle, and through Kindle Unlimited, although with KU I only get paid if you turn the pages.