Story and Photos By Rick Weiss

“Two ID’s are required to rent a video at Blockbuster; it should take at least one ID to vote,” says State Representative Russell Pearce (in photo, left), an advisor for the Protect Arizona Now initiative group currently circulating petitions around Arizona.

Pearce joined 25 other state legislators in a press conference on the lawn of the state capitol Thursday to announce their support of the Protect Arizona Now (PAN) initiative. The petition campaign began July 8 and has until July 1, 2004 to collect more than 200,000 signatures needed to place this initiative on the ballot.

The primary purpose of the PAN initiative is to strengthen the enforcement of laws that are already on the books. It focuses on two issues: the voting laws and welfare eligibility requirements. The current voting system leaves the election process “ripe for fraud,” according to Representative Randy Graf, who serves as co-advisor with Pearce in the PAN initiative group.

As Graf stated, this initiative has just as much to do with preventing a resident of Wisconsin from voting illegally in Arizona as it does any other person who tries to circumvent election law.

Most of the legislators who spoke sought to emphasize that this initiative would not change the immigration laws, nor stop the influx of illegal immigrants to the state. Instead, the intent is to make at least one move in the direction of protecting the citizens of this state from having to pay for social services that the law does not currently allow illegal immigrants to receive. In addition, passage of the initiative would protect the electoral process from fraud.

The press release signed by the 26 legislators states: “While no one wants to bar hard working individuals from services to which they are entitled, it is not fair or lawful for non-citizens to reap the benefits of citizenship at the expense of law-abiding taxpayers. This modest measure simply requires state agencies to verifiably abide by regulations already in statute, and prevents our welfare system from being abused by those who voluntarily chose to disregard the law.”

“Our initiative,” states the release, “would only require the enforcement of laws already on the books with regard to the eligibility of public benefits. People registering to vote would be required to ‘prove they are U.S. citizens’ when they register to vote. When they go to vote, they only have to provide a photo or other acceptable ID.”

Commonly expressed during the press conference was the sentiment that this issue has been avoided for far too long. “Enough is enough” said Pearce, in recognizing that immigration is a federal issue, but pointing out that the people of Arizona have a right to be protected from the federal government's failure to solve the issues.

When asked about the lack of support from Arizona’s congressional delegation, including the Republican members of that delegation, Graf (photo, right) stated that there has been some confusion about the intent of the initiative. The confusion is based upon the belief that the PAN initiative would conflict with the guest workers initiative being sponsored in Congress by representatives Jeff Flake and Jim Kolbe, and Senator John McCain. Graf says that when delegation members come home for the holidays, they will discuss this confusion with them. He feels certain that they will get on board with the initiative.

Rep. Pearce also addressed the issue of the significant disconnect between the will of the people in Arizona and other states, from the political leaders of this and other states. Poll after poll indicates a high level of favorability toward measures like the PAN initiative and other efforts to deal with the consequences of illegal immigration. Yet, the politicians seem unwilling to deal with the issue.

The legislators who signed the release are: representatives John Allen, Ray Barnes, Andy Biggs, Eddie Farnsworth, Randy Graf, Chuck Gray, Linda Gray, Joe Hart, Karen Johnson, Sylvia Laughter, Lucy Mason, Warde Nichols, Russell Pearce, Gary Pierce, Doug Quelland, Bob Robson, Bob Stump, Steven Yarbrough and Senators Bob Burns, Jack Harper, Marilyn Jarrett, Thayer Verschoor, Jim Weiers and Tom Boone.