By Howard Fischer
CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
PHOENIX – Gov. Janet Napolitano refused Wednesday to formally proclaim voter approval of Proposition 200, a move that will further delay use of the initiative’s voting provisions.
Napolitano said she decided not to act after a federal judge in Tucson on Tuesday blocked implementation of the new law pending a Dec. 22 hearing. The governor said that if Judge David Bury lifts his restraining order, she is prepared to sign the papers.
Napolitano’s move is drawing criticism from Kathy McKee, organizer of the original Protect Arizona Now Committee, which wrote the measure. She said the governor has been purposely dragging her feet on the issue to give foes a chance to challenge the law.
McKee acknowledged that now, with the case in court and a restraining order in place, the initiative cannot take effect unless and until the judge gives his permission.
But McKee said Napolitano’s decision delays the state’s request for the U.S. Justice Department to approve initiative provisions requiring evidence of citizenship to register to vote and presentation of identification when voting. That agency has at least 60 days from submission to “preclear” the new law before it can be enforced.
Assistant Attorney General Jessica Funkhouser said her office is legally precluded from seeking Justice Department approval until Napolitano signs the proclamation.
Each day of delay in the state means another day in getting the required approval whenever the court challenge to the initiative is over. It also means another day that people can continue to register – including online – without proof of citizenship.
Arizona law requires the governor to sign proclamations “forthwith” after the votes are certified. That occurred on Nov. 22. Napolitano denied Wednesday that she purposely held off signing the proclamations to give foes a chance to take the issue to court.
“I think that’s reading too much into it,” she said. “Governors in the past have interpreted ‘forthwith’ to be two to three weeks. We were keeping that schedule.”
Napolitano said she was waiting not only for a formal opinion from Attorney General Terry Goddard on the scope of the initiative – an opinion issued Nov. 12 – but also to give the Department of Economic Security time to train its workers on what documents they need to request when people apply for certain programs. She said that training was to be completed Wednesday.
The governor said no one from her office told foes they needed to file their legal action Tuesday to beat her scheduled proclamation signing on Wednesday.
“I think I had pretty clearly telegraphed that I was going to be proclaiming (approval of all ballot measures) before I went to Mexico,” she said. Napolitano leaves today for a meeting of the Arizona-Mexico Commission.
“Anybody could have read those tea leaves,” she said.