Leave it to a Democratic county recorder to make democracy even better.

When constituents head to the polls to cast their ballots they’ll use a new ballot on demand system instituted by Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes. (Unfortunately, voters choosing the next District 6 Phoenix City Councilman won't get to use this system since the City of Phoenix runs their own elections. It's the only jurisdiction in Maricopa county that does).

It all begins at the Maricopa County Electronic Tabulation Center in downtown Phoenix, a studiously understated cinder block building that stands in the midst of Arizona’s fractious political landscape as an unperturbed example of democracy at its best.

You’d think getting elected would be the hard part.

But if you’re a Democratic member of the Arizona state Legislature, where Republicans hold majorities in both the House and Senate, the end of the campaign marks the beginning of uphill battles, strategic decisions and some good old-fashioned politicking.

At times even an active, enthusiastic civic participant such as myself can suffer a bout of cynicism. I begin to wonder if all my calls, emails and submitted contact forms are actually doing anything. 

But it turns out the half hour I block out for civic activism before I start my work day matters after all, according to a recent report by the Congressional Management Foundation.

The report, one of the most comprehensive studies of civic engagement conducted in recent history, assesses the impact of constituent correspondence with Congress. One of its main findings is that the number of people who contact members of Congress has increased exponentially over the past decade. Researchers also found elected representatives value feedback and input from their constituents, although some forms of communication may have a greater impact than others.

That said, it’s also important to keep in mind that staffing shortages (Congressmen are only allowed to hire 18 staffers each) and outdated technology make responding to constituents challenging for congressional offices. 

Before one can engage, however, one needs to know what to comment. That means tracking legislation, which can be a daunting prospect even for seasoned political junkies. Fortunately, technology is here to save us. 

Congratulations are in order for 3 PC's in LD24.

Find out which Democratic activists will be traveling to Philadelphia in July as a part of the Arizona Presidential Convention Delegation.

#‎LD24 is proud to recognize Katie Hobbs, Lela Alston, Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema and our many female leaders on #‎InternationalWomensDay

Make sure to stop by and let them know how much we appreciate them this Thursday at our monthly meeting.

http://d24dems.nationbuilder.com/meeting_20160310