Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) said in a Saturday interview on “The Jeff Oravitz Show” podcast that he is “optimistic” Governor Katie Hobbs will sign legislation the lawmaker said will result in faster election results in the state.
Petersen and other lawmakers last week introduced SB 1011 last week, which would require voters submit their mail-in ballot by Friday at 7 p.m. or else vote on Election Day, and change how ballots are handled when voters cast them in person.
“Arizona was the last state in the country to provide electoral votes,” Petersen told host Jeff Oravitz, in an episode of the eponymous podcast posted to X. “What we want to do is provide election results night of, that is the whole purpose of this bill. What we’re going to do is follow the Florida model.”
Petersen suggested the legislation will pass the Arizona Legislature without much trouble, and told Oravitz he is “optimistic” overwhelming public sentiment will convince Hobbs to sign the legislation.
“Early on, her spokesperson was pretty pessimistic. I would say the last statement I heard, they were more open minded, they said we’re open to it so long as it doesn’t suppress votes,” said Petersen.
Senate President Warren Petersen: ELECTION changes & the 2026 Arizona A.G. race. @votewarren
(0:00) An ELECTION change, SB 1011, speed up Arizona’s results + bogus claims of election suppression.
(9:21) SB 1013, No tax/fee increase without 2/3 vote of your county or council.… pic.twitter.com/DaznzMOhp0— Jeff Oravits (@JeffOravits) December 14, 2024
The state senate leader noted, “We’ve had situations already, where up front she’s said, ‘I’m not going to sign that,’ and then we’ve been able to work something out and she has signed it.” According to Petersen, public sentiment plays a major role in Hobbs’ decisions.
“Quite frankly, I’m optimistic she’ll sign it,” said Petersen. “When you have enough public sentiment, she’ll sign it, and we do on this issue. Public sentiment is totally with us on this issue.”
Petersen’s suggestion the governor’s decision will ultimately be swayed by public sentiment comes as Democrats have questioned whether she is too “weak” of a candidate to survive reelection in 2026, with Attorney General Adrian Fontes confirming last month that he is “seriously considering” a primary campaign against Hobbs.
In the wake of voters passing the Secure The Border Act in a November referendum, Republicans have also suggested that any legislation vetoed by Hobbs could eventually be decided by the state’s voters in a 2026 referendum.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “State Sen. Warren Petersen” by Gage Skidmore CC2.0.
