Thread by @JasonBedrick

On Friday, @sos_arizona declared a “historic victory.”

But by Monday, SOS was conceding defeat.

What happened? The parent-led #DeclineToSign movement thwarted SOS's attempts to block the expansion of education choice, then SOS torched their credibility at a press conference. 1/

SOS claimed they handed in 142K signatures to put the Empowerment Scholarship Account expansion on the ballot. They needed 119K.

But according to a tally by @GoldwaterInst & @azpolicy, SOS actually turned in fewer than 90K. 2/

dailysignal.com/2022/09/28/sch…

That's not only significantly less than they needed, it's less than they got for a similar referendum in 2018.

What happened? Parent power. 3/

“If SOS showed up to gather signatures, there was a #DeclineToSign parent volunteer also there,” said @grantbotma, a father of 3 from Gilbert. “The energy and effort that these pro-ESA parents put forth helped properly educate our community to limit SOS petition signatures.” 4/

@AzESASpEdMom, a mom of four ESA students from Wittmann, said that hen she was done speaking with voters, “The only signing they wanted to do was to sign up for an Empowerment Scholarship Account.” 5/

Unable to gather enough signatures, SOS either bungled the math badly or attempted a bold strategy: claim to have 50K signatures more than they really did, even though the truth would soon be revealed. 6/

Whether incompetence or malfeasance, SOS now has the credibility of a $3 bill. All that's left is for AZ Sec. of State @katiehobbs to certify SOS's insufficient number of signatures. That should have happened already, but she appears to be dragging her feet. 7/

Today, #DeclineToSign leader @ArizonaCatholic led 100+ protesters in a rally in front of @katiehobbs' office, where Gov. @DougDucey called on Hobbs to expedite the signature verification process. 8/

https://twitter.com/DeAngelisCorey/status/1575206151624368129

It should not take long. As AZ Sen President @FannKfann noted, the Sec of State's office “relies on signature-review software to automate petition signature counting.” 9/

https://twitter.com/AZSenateGOP/status/1575147064266174464

AZ House Majority Leader @RepBenToma also called on @SecretaryHobbs to expedite the process. Families are waiting unnecessarily to get their kids a better education due to SOS's chicanery! 10/

https://twitter.com/AZHouseGOP/status/1575224229611458560

The parents who fought to protect the ability of all AZ families to exercise ed choice should take a bow. This victory is theirs. It's also a lesson to special interests & politicians nationwide who want to come between parents & their kids' future. 11/11

dailysignal.com/2022/09/28/sch…