Why Do ‘Free Enterprise’ Advocates Fear the Election Marketplace of Ideas?

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Free enterprise is vital to a capitalistic economy. It empowers entrepreneurs to start businesses, work hard, and boost local economies.

In such a system, businesses, large and small, compete on equal footing, offering consumers free choice. Advocates of these principles argue that applying them to politics could revitalize democracy. However, this is not the landscape in Arizona.

Every political candidate, irrespective of party affiliation, should fairly compete for voter support. Voters must freely choose the candidates they believe are best suited for office. Fear of competition should not hinder these electoral freedoms.

Yet, the “Arizona Free Enterprise Club,” claiming to support economic free enterprise, is obstructing these principles in the political arena. They have filed a lawsuit to stop the Make Elections Fair Act, a citizen-led initiative aiming to abolish closed partisan primaries and promote electoral freedom.

Independent voters in Arizona face significant barriers. Unaffiliated candidates require up to six times the number of signatures to appear on general election ballots. The current system also forces taxpayers to fund partisan primaries that exclude independents.

A more equitable system would open primaries to all candidates under the same rules, giving voters equal access to participate. Over 559,000 Arizonans signed petitions to place the measure on the ballot, far exceeding the requirement.

Yet, there are efforts to maintain the closed primary system. A legislative panel has approved a biased description of the measure, aiming to mislead voters.

Make Elections Fair Arizona is now in a legal battle against both the Arizona Free Enterprise Club and the state legislature. They fight to protect electoral freedoms and allow voters to decide in November on the initiative. Advocates for democracy and competition are anxiously awaiting the outcome.