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Arizona Prevent Mining at Oak Flat Initiative (2020)
| Arizona Prevent Mining at Oak Flat Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Natural resources | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Arizona Prevent Mining at Oak Flat Initiative was not on the ballot in Arizona as an initiated state statute on November 3, 2020.
The measure was designed to prevent mining at Oak Flat. The measure would have declared Section 3003 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, signed by former President Obama in 2014, null and void and as having no effect on the state. The measure would have tasked the state legislature with passing legislation to prevent the federal government from taking actions not protecting tribal land, water, and natural resources in the state.[1]
Section 3003 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 authorized Resolution Copper Mining to mine the Oak Flat Withdrawal Area in exchange for other land. The San Carlos Apache Tribe said the land at Oak Flat had cultural and religious value.[2] Former U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona helped secure Section 3003 to the bill.[3]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
Process in Arizona
In Arizona, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated state statute is equal to 10 percent of the votes cast for the office of governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Petitions can be circulated for up to 24 months. Signature petitions must be submitted four months prior to the election at which the measure is to appear.
The requirements to get initiated state statutes certified for the 2020 ballot:
- Signatures: 237,645 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was July 2, 2020.
If the secretary of state certifies that enough valid signatures were submitted, the initiative is put on the next general election ballot. The secretary of state verifies the signatures through a random sampling of 5 percent of submitted signatures working in collaboration with county recorders. If the random sampling indicates that valid signatures equal to between 95 percent and 105 percent of the required number were submitted, a full check of all signatures is required. If the random sampling shows fewer signatures, the petition fails. If the random sampling shows more, the initiative is certified for the ballot.
Stages of this initiative
The committee Save Oak Flat filed the ballot initiative on May 3, 2019.[1]
See also
External links
Amendment
Footnotes
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