Journalists’ Roundtable: 8-26-22: Ballot Initiatives, Lake’s Endorsement and more

Aug. 26, 2022

What are the cleared initiatives?

The first initiative clears dark money that doesn’t clearly state which donors purchased ads. The Supreme Court approved this initiative and it is now cleared for the ballot. People have been pushing for this initiative to get on the ballot since 2016.

The second initiative is from a union out of California called “Healthcare Rising.”

Bob Christie: “If you go bankrupt or if you owe a bunch of money, it raises the homestead exemption from 150 to 400 thousand dollars so they can’t take your house.” This applies to medical debt as well as any other debt. This initiative is opposed by the bill collection industry.

The third initiative has been “ping-ponging” back and forth between the lower and higher court and has the potential to change election laws. It is being sponsored by a lot of democratic money.

Bob Christie: “This would stop the cyber-ninjas from recounting the ballots. It would basically ban anyone form getting possession of ballots outside of government.” It would also have automatic voter registration, including when a person receivers their drivers license, extend early voting and restore the preliminary voting list that was modified by the legislature.

Who Was Kari Lake’s Recent Endorsement?

Laurie Roberts: “Last week, she endorsed Jarrin Jackson, who was running for the state senate in Oklahoma. The man is apparently very well known and it’s been fairly extensively covered there that he bashes the LGBTQ community, and he puts out on social media this anti-semitic trash, and yet she endorsed him.”

Lake faced repercussions when this got back to the state. She never explained why she endorsed Jackson after his online behavior.

Since then, her campaign has said that she withdrew her endorsement. As of now, she has not made a public statement.