In Arizona, voters are knee deep in initiatives

PHOENIX — With a voter guide as thick as a novel and sample ballots the size of posters, Arizona voters have a lot of homework to do before they step into the booth on Election Day.

Arizona's ballot contains 19 initiative and referendum measures — the most of any state — plus the usual slate of candidates for offices from the U.S. Senate on down. The voter guide is 240 pages long.

The number of measures apparently ties a state record, set in 1950, Deputy Secretary of State Kevin Tyne said.

The measures were put on the ballot by lawmakers or commissions, or through petition drives. Subjects include gay marriage, workplace smoking, illegal immigration and legislative pay. One of the most intriguing would approve a $1 million lottery prize for a voter chosen at random in primary and general elections.

Nationally, there are 205 ballot measures, including 14 in Colorado and 13 in California, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Other states with large numbers of ballot measures include South Dakota (11), Nevada (10), Oregon (10), Nebraska and Rhode Island (nine each). Washington state has three statewide initiatives on the ballot.

In Arizona, Glendale retiree Irene Bourke said she accepts the many choices on this year's ballot as a citizen's duty but still regards it as a chore. "It will take me an hour to vote!" she said.

Election officials predict long lines at some polling places even if many voters make their choices in advance.

Karen Osborne, election director in Maricopa County, which includes most of metropolitan Phoenix, said it took her 17 minutes to fill out her early ballot, even though she already had decided her choices.

In California, the state's largest voter guides are a whopping 192 pages. And the sample ballot in Joaquin County is the largest ever — 100 to 124 pages. California guides have been swelling since the 1970s, when candidates, voters and interest groups increasingly turned to state propositions to enact legislation.

"It's arduous, but it's the price of democracy," said Lori Klein, a leader of a campaign that put a property-rights measure on the ballot in Arizona.

Seattle Times staff contributed to this report.