They might not see eye to eye on much else, but proponents and opponents alike agree that Prop. 200 is mighty popular with rank and file voters.

Several recent polls show the ballot measure that targets illegal immigration and voter fraud garnering more than 60 per cent approval from the voters surveyed.

To a proponent like Rep. Russell Pearce, the popular support only demonstrates the common sense that underlies the measure.

“I’ve never seen such a disconnect between the voters and the self-appointed elite,” says Mr. Pearce, R-18. “Every single interest group in this state that benefits from illegal immigration — the banks, the financial services companies, and anyone else who benefits or makes money off of cheap illegal labor — is against it. And just about everyone else is for it.”

Grant Woods, a former Arizona attorney general and a co-chair of the No On 200 committee, doesn’t deny the popular support that Prop. 200 has in opinion polls.

“The frustrations are real,” Mr. Woods says, but Prop. 200 isn’t a solution to the problems that illegal immigration brings to Arizona.

Prop. 200 would:

• Require an applicant for voter registration to prove U.S. citizenship and every voter to present identification.

• Require state and local government agents who administer public benefits that are not required by the federal government to verify identity and eligibility of applicants and refuse to accept any I.D. card unless the issuing authority verified the immigration status of the applicant.

• Make it a misdemeanor for a government employee or supervisor to fail to report discovered violations of federal immigration law.

Mr. Woods says a central problem with the measure is that because it doesn’t define “public benefit” it raises the possibility that any public employee, from a library clerk to a firefighter, could be subject to sanctions for failing to determine if a patron or patient is a U.S. citizen.

“Arizonans may be left with a quagmire of bureaucratic red tape to get everyday services,” Mr. Woods says. “Who wants that hassle and for what≠”

That uncertainty could cost state taxpayers millions of dollars in changes in the way the state delivers services — and almost certainly will invite scores of lawsuits, Mr. Woods says.

Randy Pullen, co-chair of the Yes on 200 committee, says every initiative ever passed in Arizona has invited scores of lawsuits.

“But that’s not a good reason to not do the right thing,” Mr. Pullen says.

Prop. 200 isn’t a cure-all for the problem of illegal immigration, but it’s “the first step, and an important step,” Mr. Pullen said.

Voter Fraud

“There may not be a lot of statistical proof in the number of arrests, but voter fraud is a big problem,” Mr. Pullen says. “You can register to vote online with a P.O. box for an address and no one ever knows that you’re really who you say you are. I know because I have a P.O. box, and I’ve gotten voter information for someone I don’t even know who must have had my box at one time.”

The integrity of the voting system should be more respected, Mr. Pearce says.

“You need two forms of I.D., one with a picture, to rent a video at Blockbuster,” he said “Why shouldn’t voting require at least that much≠”

Mr. Pullen and Mr. Pearce say they believe illegal immigrants are receiving millions of dollars in state benefits because a culture has grown up among public employees not to ask questions. That fits into the need of many large businesses to employ illegal immigrants at something less than minimum wage, they say.

Governor Napolitano, an opponent of Prop. 200, said in August that making all the changes required if the measure passes will cost $7 million initially and an additional $20 million each year to keep up.

Kathy McKee, who chaired the committee that got Prop. 200 on the ballot, says Ms. Napolitano is “pulling numbers out of her hat” to try to defeat the measure.

“They’re including all kinds of ridiculous numbers — saying that roadside assistance or a library card is a public benefit — just to make the cost look high,” Ms. McKee says.

Mr. Pullen agrees.

“The only figure I’ve seen that seems reasonable is when [Maricopa County Recorder] Helen Purcell said it would cost about half a million dollars a year to make the changes needed to make voters prove they’re citizens,” Mr. Pullen says. “I don’t think that’s an unreasonable price to pay for securing our election system.”—