In our previous posting, we reviewed states’ election law changes states around the 2024 general election, where we noted Arizona’s inaction on resolving problems with the state’s voting process. In this article, as promised there, we will discuss the unsuccessful effort by the Arizona legislature in early 2025 to improve the process.

The Arizona state legislature is led by Republican majorities in both the house and senate. At the beginning of the current legislative session, they drafted a bill that would have improved election security and facilitated timely processing for mail-in ballots. In particular, the legislation sought to address Arizona’s notorious delays in finalizing election results.

In a controversial move, in mid-February Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed this bill.¹ The bill had two main components. One moved up the deadline for early in-person, mail-ballot drop-off, and the second addressed procedures around the state’s “active early voting list.”

Regarding the latter, the bill eliminated the practice of automatic ballot send-outs to all voters on this list. Instead, voters present on the list would be required to confirm their addresses prior to each election cycle to be retained on the list and automatically be sent a mail-in ballot.

Early in-person voting

Arizona has offered two alternative options for in-person early voting. The first option is in person traditional voting at a polling place prior to election day. In this case, the voter is issued a ballot that is tabulated through a machine. This requires showing an identity to receive the ballot, although voters without an identity can still vote by provisional ballot. The second option is an in-person drop-off of a mail-in ballot. These submitted ballots must later go through a signature validation process.

The bill would have given an earlier deadline – specifically the Friday before the election – for early voting by mail-ballot drop-off. This is to ensure that the signature verification can get underway sufficiently in advance of election day.

Our take: common-sense measures with little downside

The bill would have allowed for a fresh start to Arizona’s election system, rife with questions about its list of eligible voters and hobbled by inefficiencies in vote counting.

The bill would have ensured or at least much improved the timeliness and efficacy of vote counting by moving up a few days the deadline for early drop-off of mail-ballots. The current timeline not only delays the finalization, but also forces a rushed and pressured signature verification and counting process for the ballots dropped-off close to election day. This, in turn, augments the risk of errors and mishaps. It also erodes trust in the process, because a rushed and chaotic process is more difficult to oversee and monitor.

While there is significant upside here, there would seem to be little or no downside. Voters would still have almost a month’s time to vote early by mail. If they do not make the slightly advanced drop-off deadline, they still have the option of in-person traditional voting on or before election day. Common sense offers no compelling reason why the ballot drop-off option needs to be available as a second option so close to election day.

Similarly, common sense offers no compelling reason why voters shouldn’t be required to periodically confirm their addresses for the active early voting list. However, there is much benefit from ensuring that this list has up-to-date address information.

Critics of the current process contend that the list is replete with obsolete voter information. If it is not periodically checked and confirmed, then this can result in fraud, due to ballots ending up in the hands of the wrong individuals. In fact, common sense dictates that such a requirement protects voters, by preventing others from voting in their name.

Through its provisions, the bill would have increased public confidence, according to polling which determined that 52% of Arizonans preferred a more quick and efficient elections process.²

Passion superseded logic

Despite the majority of Arizonans concluding such, on February 18, Katie Hobbs, the Democratic governor of Arizona, vetoed the bill. The move did not surprise Republicans, who expected it. “The governor’s veto is a huge mistake,” Senate President Warren Petersen remarked. “This was a missed opportunity to increase voter confidence and reduce frustration on election night.”

The bill’s opponents, including the governor, acknowledged that the overall intention of the bill was beneficial. However, they claimed that it was a “voter suppression bill” due to the tighter deadline for in person early ballot return and new requirement for automatic ballot send outs.

Hobbs and other Democrats equated the latter requirement to “elimination” of the active early voting list and dubbed it a non-starters. They asserted that requiring voters to periodically confirm their addresses would be an unnecessary inconvenience and potential obstacle for voters who prefer to vote by mail. Republicans argued otherwise, emphasizing that they inserted this into the bill because sending out ballots to unconfirmed addresses can facilitate vote fraud.

In her veto remarks, Hobbs laid out several options whereby she was willing to consider compromising with the Republicans, including same-day voter registration, a non-starter for Republicans; and steps to improve the accuracy of voter registration records. Hobbs remarked, “a negotiated bill that included some of these provisions would have shown Arizonans that it is both possible to speed up counting and expand voter access at the same time.” ³

Future outlook

The veto by the Arizona governor has upped the ante on the contentious political climate in this battleground state, aggravating the clash between two very differing viewpoints on election laws.

The state legislature is now again looking to reform Arizona’s election procedures. A modified bill called House Resolution 2013, dubbed the Arizona Free and Fair Elections Act, deals with the same early-ballot timeline provisions as the original. It also mandates the exclusion of foreign dollars being used in elections, and requires election officials to report all people involved in election work to the board. If passed, the bill’s provisions will be implemented in the upcoming midterm election. ⁴

State Representative Oscar de los Santos who represents Phoenix, delivered the Democratic response to the new bill, expressing the party’s frustration with election laws pursued by the Republicans. He dubbed it a “continued attack” on Arizona’s decades-old early-voting system. ⁵

“It restricts access to the ballot,” he added, claiming that it “disenfranchises hundreds of thousands of people by making it impossible for Arizonans to vote on election day by dropping off their ballots.” One wonders, however, why this is so, since the bill still allows for many weeks of early voting and for voting by mail-in ballot after the deadline at the polls with an identity.

State Representative Alexander Kolodin, the Republican representing Scottsdale, remarked, “We know that the voters are crying out for faster election results.” He added, “we know they’re crying out to not get other people’s ballots in the mailbox. We know they’re crying out for an election system that works, as it does in Florida.” He told Arizonans the Republican majority would take action so that Arizona get secure elections as Republicans see it. ⁶

It is worth noting that Arizona elections in the recent past, including Hobbs’s own election, have raised suspicions among the public and brought criticisms from elections experts and lawyers. Not only have they been plagued by counting delays and voter roll issues, but questions have been raised on the functionality of voting machines and on partisanship in the Maricopa County elections board. Republicans clearly intend to persist on these issues.

As we have seen often in states’ election legislation, what the right side of the aisle sees as common-sense measures to ensure trust in elections produces howls from the left side alleging “voter suppression.” This pattern unfortunately has stifled progress in Arizona, and let’s hope that in this important time and place, common sense will soon prevail. Vamos!

1. Our discussion of the bill’s provisions and the governor’s veto draws on information from the following sources: (1) Caitlin Sievers, “Republicans want Arizona to count votes like Florida. It’s not that simple.” Arizona Mirror, February 10, 2025 [link]; (2) Kevin Stone, “Arizona Legislature sends bill to speed up election results to Gov. Hobbs.” KTAR News, February 13, 2025 [link]; and (3) Jerrod MacDonald-Elvoy, “Hobbs vetoes Republican plan to end Election Day ballot drop-offs.” Arizona Mirror, February 18, 2025 [link]. ↩︎
2. Source: Stacey Barchenger, “Katie Hobbs vetoes GOP election bill, but Republicans have a backup plan.” azcentral.com, February 18, 2025 [link] ↩︎
3. Source same as footnote 2 ↩︎
4. Source: Laurie Roberts, “Hobbs kills GOP election bill, and Arizona Republicans are … delighted | Opinion.” azcentral.com, February 19, 2025 [link]./ ↩︎
5. Same source as footnote 2. ↩︎
6. Same source as footnote 4. ↩︎