Majority of Arizona Voters Support Changing Laws for Faster Election Results: Poll

A majority of Arizona voters would support legislation aimed at increasing the speed of election results as lawmakers in the Arizona State Senate file legislation to emulate the rapid election tabulation seen in Florida.

The poll, released last Thursday by Noble Predictive Insights, found that 52 percent of Arizona voters want Arizona to “change its laws to maintain election integrity and count votes more quickly.”

According to the pollsters, 15 percent more Arizonans want the laws to change than the number who want them to remain the same, as just 37 percent said the current laws are “the best way to ensure a correct vote count.” An additional 11 percent of respondents told Noble Predictive Insights they were not sure.

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Republican Appointed by Hobbs to Review Possible Non-Citizen Voter Registrations Exchanged Praise with Stephen Richer

Patty Hansen, Stallworth-Pouquette

Governor Katie Hobbs on Friday appointed one Democratic and one Republican official to lead a bipartisan investigation into the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Division after her administration confirmed it lacks confirmation of citizenship for more than 200,000 registered voters earlier this month.

Hobbs stated on Friday that she “directed MVD to work swiftly in coordination with election officials” immediately upon learning Arizona lacked citizenship information for approximately 218,000 voters, and on Friday launched what her office called, “an independent, bipartisan audit of MVD policies.”

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Public Interest Legal Foundation Investigates Commercial Addresses on Arizona Voter Rolls

PILF

A new film by Public Interest Legal Foundation is bringing attention to the illegal listing of hundreds of commercial addresses as voters’ residences on Arizona’s voter roll ahead of the November 5 general election. According to state law, these addresses are not considered residences.

Under the Arizona Revised Statutes 16-152, the voter registration should include the “complete address of the registrant’s actual place of residence, including street name and number, apartment or space number, city or town and zip code, or such description of the location of the residence that it can be readily ascertained or identified.”

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Arizona Democrats Eye Seven Key State House Races in Bid to Claim Majority

Arizona Capitol

In Arizona the stakes are high, as the Democrats are attempting to win statewide control of the legislature in Arizona. We previously featured the State Senate races to watch, here we detail the State Houses that are competitive. 

Early ballots for the upcoming elections will be mailed out on October 7. The Arizona State Legislature is currently divided and under Republican control by a narrow margin. Republicans hold a 2-seat majority in the State Senate, while in the State House of Representatives, the Republicans maintain a single-seat edge, meaning Democrats need to flip just one seat in each chamber to achieve a tie and two to take the gavel.

For those who want to get involved, Turning Point Action has launched a major initiative called “Commit 100,” as part of their broader “Chase the Vote” campaign aimed at mobilizing conservative voters in key battleground states like Arizona. This initiative encourages volunteers to chase 100 early ballots and 100 Election Day ballots, focusing on ensuring that low-propensity voters turn out.

The last day to register to vote is October 7. The General Election will be held on November 5.

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Open Primary Proponents Sue Lawmakers over Ballot Language for ‘Make Elections Fair Act’

People Voting

The Make Elections Fair PAC has filed a lawsuit against Arizona lawmakers, claiming that the description of the ballot measure provided to voters is misleading and confusing. The group argues that the language, crafted by the Arizona Legislative Council, inaccurately suggests that the initiative would mandate ranked choice voting. Sarah Smallhouse, chairman of the campaign, stated that lawmakers refused to amend the description as requested, protecting their own interests in closed primaries. The PAC is asking the court to rewrite the description in a neutral tone. They claim placing ranked choice voting in the description is deceptive. 

According to the group’s website, the Make Elections Fair Act aims to eliminate partisan primaries, placing all candidates on the same ballot regardless of political affiliation and allowing voters to choose their favorites without separate ballots. The website states the initiative seeks to “dismantle the current system”, which often excludes independent and unaffiliated voters from primary elections. The PAC believes it will promote competition, reduce polarization, and ensure that elected officials are more representative of the entire electorate.

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Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs Has a Chance to Sign Bill Expanding Judge Retainment Elections

Among the nearly 100 bills delivered to Governor Katie Hobbs (D) by the Arizona State House on Monday is one relating to judge retainment elections. 

House Bill (HB) 2757, sponsored by House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria), addresses judges from the Arizona Court of Appeals (ACOA), which has two divisions, one in Phoenix and the other in Tucson. The ACOA comprises 28 judges, with 19 in Division 1 and nine in Division 2. Under current law, these judges are first appointed by the governor for an initial term of two years, but after that point, judges can only retain their position if approved by the public in an election. However, the only citizens who can vote to keep an ACOA judge are those within the court’s division. So, when a Division 2 judge is up for election, only Pima, Pinal, Cochise, Santa Cruz, Greenlee, Graham, and Gila County residents can make that decision.

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Anti-Regulatory Overreach Bill from State Representative Justin Wilmeth Passes Through House Floor

Arizona State Representative Justin Wilmeth (R-Phoenix) announced that his bill, House Bill (HB) 2254, aimed at restricting the state from enacting overreaching regulations, passed through the House Floor on Tuesday.

“Burdensome regulations can lead to higher prices, fewer small businesses, and fewer jobs,” said Wilmeth. “HB 2254 says legislative approval would be required before high-cost rules could be implemented by the state.”

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Arizona Activists Report Their Demand for ‘Fair and Free Election’ Is Catching Fire Across Nation

Activists in Arizona have spearheaded a campaign for demands for a “fair and free election” that, they say, is already beginning a national movement to counter election fraud.

Spurred on by the projection that Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) has defeated Republican Kari Lake, Joe Oltmann, founder of FEC United, Lance Migliaccio, host of “The Big Mig,” and David Clements, a New Mexico State University professor and one of the leading advocates for election audits and against vaccine mandates, laid out for their listeners the demands that start with a new election on December 6, Gateway Pundit reported.

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Kari Lake Blasts Katie Hobbs for Only Showing Up to Office for 19 Days in the Past Six Months

Arizona’s Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake put her Democrat opponent Katie Hobbs on blast for only appearing in office for her current job as Secretary of State for 19 days in the past six months.

“Katie Hobbs failed to show up to her current job and failed to be interviewed in a debate format for the job she wants as Governor, yet expects a promotion anyway just like every other failed career politician. The facts are clear that Hobbs is not capable of properly administering this election. Election integrity is a bipartisan issue, and Katie Hobbs refusal to take her real job seriously is a threat to Democracy. The voters of Arizona cannot trust Katie Hobbs to run this election, and she should do the right thing by recusing herself immediately,” said the Kari Lake Campaign.

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Kari Lake Campaign Calls Liz Cheney ‘Confused’: ‘Auditions for CNN Contributors Are Being Held in Washington, Not Arizona’

The Campaign of Arizona’s gubernatorial Republican nominee, Kari Lake, blasted Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who spoke on the Arizona State University (ASU) Campus Wednesday, telling Arizonans to vote against candidates like Lake.

“Liz Cheney is confused. Auditions for CNN contributors are being held in Washington, not in Arizona. No one here cares what she has to say,” said Lake’s Communications Director, Ross Trumble, to the Arizona Sun Times.

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Maricopa County Recorder Tells Arizonans to Prepare for a ‘Blue Night’ in November Election

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer shared Monday that voters should be ready for Democrats to initially lead on the night of November 8th as early votes are counted first.

“The results released at 8:00 PM on Election Night will be comprised of early ballots we receive by the weekend before Election Day,” tweeted Richer. “First moral of the story: In Arizona, Initial results will likely be much bluer than eventual final results. Second moral: if you want your ballot to be part of results released AT 8:00 PM on Election Night, return it before the weekend before Election Day.”

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Charlie Kirk Calls Arizona the ‘Battleground That Can Determine the Future of America’

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk spoke at an Arizona rally Sunday, telling the people that this is the battleground state that can determine the future of America.

“You live in the state that is now the battleground, 50-50, hundreds of millions of Democrat dollars are coming into this state because as Arizona goes, America goes,” Kirk said. “You live in the place where everything you do matters. You live in the state, where if America is going to survive as a Constitutional Republic, separation of powers, independent judiciary, respect for the unborn, protection of our children. It’s all going to happen here.”

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Supreme Court Upholds Arizona’s Voting Restrictions, ‘Not Racially Discriminatory’

Thursday, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) upheld Arizona law prohibiting ballot harvesting and out-of-precinct voting. The three dissents in the case, Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee (DNC), came from Justices Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor. The DNC had argued that the state’s bans on ballot harvesting and out-of-precinct voting discriminated against minorities, thereby violating the Voting Rights Act. SCOTUS rejected that assessment.

Arizona law prohibits individuals from casting provisional ballots in person on Election Day outside of their designated precinct. It also prohibits ballot harvesting, meaning that only family and household members, caregivers, mail carriers, and election officials can handle individual’s ballots.

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