PHOENIX – The Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all-volunteer, nonprofit, non-partisan grassroots organization, issued an alert on Sunday to explain how registered voters can help their favorite candidates get on the ballot without having to leave home.
Arizona now allows candidates running for federal, statewide or legislative office to collect 100 percent of their required nomination petition signatures or $5 qualifying contributions (for publicly-funded “Clean Elections” candidates) through the Arizona Secretary of State’s (AzSOS) E-Qual system.
E-Qual enables eligible voters to electronically sign petitions or make contributions.
A registered voter may start the process on the AzSOS’s Voter Authentication page, where personal information such as driver license number or non-operating ID number and birth date must be entered to authenticate and access the individual’s voter registration record.
Once that information is provided to verify your existing voter registration and current address, the system will direct you to a page of available candidate petitions you can sign.
With the 2018 election year rapidly approaching with the primary on Aug. 28 and general election on Nov. 6, 2018, signing nomination petitions online will help your chosen candidates get on the ballot.
If you are not registered to vote, Arizona citizens may register to vote online here.
Alerts such as these are a project of AzCDL, which boasts being “self-funded and fiercely independent,” stating, “We are not beholden to any national organizations or political parties. No outsiders, no sugar daddies, no corporate string pullers, and no New York billionaires. We are funded by your donations.”
One may become a member of AzCDL by making a donation of $30 (basic annual) or $50 (sustaining annual) or $300 for a lifetime membership. Contributions, gifts or membership dues are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.
To become a member, one must also agree to the following statement:
“I hereby apply for membership in the Arizona Citizens Defense League. I certify that I support the Constitution and the Bill of Rights of the United States of America and the State of Arizona. I am not a member of any organization or group which has as any part of its program the attempt to overthrow the Government of the United States or any of its political subdivisions by force or violence.”
