Residents of Arizona may have a few more reasons to go to the polls this November... about a million to be exact.  Mark Osterloh, the NYT-dubbed "political gadfly" behind the Arizona Voter Reward Act, has collected 185,902 signatures for a ballot initiative that qualifies anyone and everyone who votes in a general Arizona election for a chance to win $1 Million.  

The signatures (far more than the requisite 122,612) and the subsequent approval from the AZ Secretary of State mean that the initiative will be voted on this November, and since approximately 2 million people voted in Arizona's last general election, the chances of winning the million dollar prize are about one in two-million--considerably better odds than winning Powerball (odds: 1 in 146,107,962).  

However, Osterloh's initiative has already received some strong criticism from some who see the million-dollar-vote idea as "crass commercialization" and others who find it simply illegal.  Critics of the initiative argue that the higher number of voters guaranteed by this initiative do not necessarily mean a better outcome for the state and the country.  Others cite Arizona law which threatens prison time for up to one year for anyone who, "makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate; and whoever solicits, accepts, or receives any such expenditure in consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote".

So far, Arizona political leaders have refused to take a stance on the issue.  

Source: NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/17/us/17voter.html

UPI
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060717-020203-3196r