Invest In Ed Ballot Initiative Being Challenged In Court This Week

By Rocio Hernandez
Published: Wednesday, July 29, 2020 - 12:59pm
Updated: Wednesday, July 29, 2020 - 1:00pm

Opponents of a ballot initiative for a proposed tax hike on wealthy Arizonans to fund education are challenging it in Maricopa County Superior Court this week.  One argument the challengers, who are funded by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, made on Tuesday centered on how petition circulators were paid. 

They argued that petition circulators for the Invest in Ed ballot initiative were compensated based on how many signatures they collected. The challengers said that violates a state law which specifically prohibits paying people on a per-signature basis. They presented evidence at Tuesday's court hearing that showed not all circulators were paid the same. 

Attorney Roopali Desai, who’s representing the initiative campaign, questioned one of the signature gatherers, Colby Jensen, on bonuses he received for working weekends. She asked if the number of signatures he collected a condition for the bonus. He told her no. 

The challengers have also argued that the initiative's 100-word description is misleading. 

The trial is expected to run through Thursday. The losing party is likely to appeal the decision to the Arizona Supreme Court. 

Education