Arizona’s top Democrats from Congress on down are coordinating to pass a ballot measure that would enshrine relaxed voter ID laws in the Arizona Constitution.
A coalition of top Democrats joined on a livestream earlier this week for a launch of the Protect the Vote Arizona Act political action committee: Reps. Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04), Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ-03), and Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ-07); Secretary of State Adrian Fontes; Attorney General Kris Mayes; and the minority leaders for the Arizona House and Senate, Rep. Oscar De Los Santos (D-LD-11) and Sen. Priya Sundareshan (D-LD-18).
The Democrats styled the ballot measure in their public comments as focused primarily on keeping mail-in voting as an option in Arizona. However, most of the ballot measure focuses on undoing the strictness of voter ID laws and ensuring that stricter voting requirements may not come to pass.
The Protect the Vote Arizona Act would require the acceptance of any IDs with the photograph, name, and address of an individual — not just limited to any government-issued form of identification.
The act also prohibits limiting allowable forms of identification to photo IDs, and requires acceptance of IDs so long as election workers can’t determine “on its face” that the identification provided had expired.
The act would also require the acceptance of “any two forms of identification that bear the name and address of the elector.” The non-exhaustive examples of valid voter ID included utility bills or bank or credit union statements dated within ninety days of the election, or any mailing labeled “official election material.”
Even if an individual doesn’t provide valid identification, the law would require that individual be allowed to cast a provisional ballot regardless. According to the ballot measure, that provisional ballot wouldn’t count unless the elector provides any of the myriad forms of ID to their county elections officer within a certain time frame.
Beyond identification laws, the act would prohibit any policies or laws that would “burden” voting, not just those that restrict or curtail voting. One of those measures would concern mail-in ballots. The act proposes to enshrine mail-in ballots within the Arizona Constitution.
Help us protect early voting and mail-in voting in Arizona! Join me for a ‘Protect the Vote’ livestream this evening to learn more about this key Arizona ballot initiative. We must count and protect every single vote 🗳️📩 pic.twitter.com/uqkqmfYOue
Ansari said in the livestream that Democrats need to gather 500,000 signatures by July 2 to get their constitutional measure on the ballot this November. The Protect the Vote Arizona website said a lower number will be needed: about 384,000 signatures.
Ansari estimated that they’ve already collected about 50,000 signatures in recent weeks.
During conversations on the ballot measure, Grijalva agreed with a claim that the SAVE Act and similar efforts to require voter ID were rooted in racist efforts to prevent non-whites from voting.
“We have to give people hope that there is a way out of this,” said Grijalva. “We know that our message is resonating with people.”
Other top Democrats on the livestream included Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Greg Casar (TX), Jasmine Crockett (TX), Maxwell Frost (FL), and Robert Garcia (CA).
The political action committee behind the ballot measure, Protect the Vote Arizona, claimed to have had no funding or expenditures since its launch in January through the end of March.
Key members behind the ballot measure are Maritza Miranda Saenz, a lobbyist with Lumen Strategies, and Dacey Montoya, Gov. Katie Hobbs’ treasurer and a leading dark money handler for Arizona Democrats (see: “The Money Wheel”).
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
The Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) is heading into the second quarter of this pivotal election year with a negative cash balance exceeding $720,000.
Their latest campaign finance report, filed last week, reflected total-to-date expenditures that nearly tripled their income: over $2.8 million compared to $1 million.
For this first period, ADP’s expenditures did fall below their income: about $67,500 compared to $151,500.
ADP experienced much stronger fundraising in the first quarter of 2022, the last midterm election year. The party’s reported income was over $370,000 and expenditures were $146,000 in that first quarter.
A stark difference was evident between ADP’s campaign finances for the last two off-years as well.
The party’s campaign finance report data for all of 2025 reflected income just below $857,000, but expenditures totaling over $2.7 million. In the first quarter of 2025, the party raised only about $210,000 and spent nearly $360,000.
Comparatively, by the end of 2023, ADP had $1.5 million more in income than expenditures. In the first quarter of 2023, ADP raised nearly $1 million and expended about $227,000.
Some among ADP leadership did warn last summer that the party would go broke by the end of the year. The party has dealt with publicized infighting for about a year.
Unlike other transfers listed, shared expenses with the Navajo County Democratic Committee (NCDC) were categorized as an “unlimited transfer” routing arrangement for ADP funds.
NCDC has a surplus of nearly $1.6 million. Since the beginning of last year, NCDC has sent over $61,000 to ADP.
In that same time period ADP sent back over $107,000 to NCDC, or $46,000 more than NCDC has sent. Their cycle to date reported a cash flow between the two totaling nearly $150,000.
Navajo County accounted for ADP’s second-largest expenditure last year.
AZ Free News contacted ADP about the state of their finances and their fiscal arrangement with NCDC. ADP didn’t respond to our inquiry.
Apart from NCDC, ADP’s number-one expenditure last year by far was $1.7 million last August to the Copper State Values PAC, established and run by Gov. Katie Hobbs’ campaign manager Nicole DeMont and treasurer Dacey Montoya. Since DeMont set up the PAC in December 2024, its primary function has appeared to be a funding arm for the Hobbs reelection campaign.
The PAC sent back $94,500 a few months later, last December.
Discounting the $49,000 received from NCDC last year, ADP’s biggest sources of income were:
United Food and Comm Workers (UFCW) Union Local 99, the largest private-sector union in the state: $100,000
Estate of the late Janet Delesanti: $49,000
Arizona Public Service: $30,000
Elevance Health Inc (formerly Anthem), an Ohio-based insurance company: $25,000
Donalyn Mikles, former attorney for the defunct Arizona Summit Law School and director of the California-based Kling Family Foundation: $20,000
Moms Fed Up, a D.C.-based political activist organization: $20,000
William (Bill) Roe, former chair of the Arizona Democratic Party: $15,000
Pam H. Grissom, founder and longtime (not current) board member for Arizona List: $15,000
AFSCME People, AFSCME’s D.C.-based political action arm: $15,000
The following donated about $10,000 each: University of Phoenix, PMI US Corporate Services, Nextera Energy Resources, Arizona Education Association Fund for Public Education, Arizona State Association of Electrical Workers, and Daniel T. Ling.
None of the Democrats’ other legislative districts or county parties in the state have reported a negative cash balance, with the exceptions of Santa Cruz County Central Democratic Committee and La Paz County Democratic Central Committee.
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Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) announced he has raised nearly $3 million to date, and has over $1 million cash on hand.
Following the aggregate donations of multiple contributors, the biggest donations to Biggs’ campaign came from Biggs’ federal campaign, Biggs2016, amounting to $50,000, and the Freedom Club PAC which gave over $16,000.
Arizona campaign funding data reports fellow Republican congressman and gubernatorial candidate David Schweikert as having raised nearly $900,000, and having nearly $300,000 cash on hand.
Schweikert’s top donors came from Schweikert’s own coffers. $572,00 came from Schweikert’s federal campaign committee, Friends of David Schweikert. $115,000 came from Schweikert himself.
Even combined, the pair doesn’t come close to the amount in the Democratic governor’s campaign coffers.
Incumbent Gov. Katie Hobbs has raised over $5.7 million since last year, and has over $6 million in cash on hand.
Unlike Biggs and Schweikert, Hobbs had multiple large donors outside of multiple contributor aggregates, mainly unions: Unite Here Tip Campaign Committee ($11,000), United Food and Commercial Workers Union of Arizona Local 99 ($11,000), AFSCME People ($11,000), Arizona Education Association ($11,000), and Hollywood star Jennifer Garner ($10,000).
Hobbs also received nearly $250,000 in non-contribution income from Copper State Values, a political action committee established and chaired by Hobbs’ campaign manager, Nicole Demont.
Demont established the PAC in December 2024, and teamed up with leading dark money handler Dacey Montoya (“The Money Wheel”), who serves as the PAC’s treasurer. Funds from the PAC began benefitting Hobbs’ campaign last June.
Other than a few contributions to outside organizations, it appears Copper State Values functions as a funding arm for the Hobbs campaign.
Copper State Values has made payments to a number of companies which Hobbs has paid for services, including $150,000 to the California-based Capital Strategies, which has Hobbs listed under its clientele; nearly $7,000 to Pingdex for calls; and $40,000 to Monteverde Strategies.
The non-contribution income covered shared expenses between the Hobbs campaign and the PAC: acquisition, office supplies, insurance, professional services, rent, finance consulting, payroll, postage, mailers, utilities, fuel, food and beverage, fundraising event, travel, and health insurance.
Multiple donations came from the health sector: Centene Management Company, the Missouri-based largest Medicaid managed care organization in the nation; PhRMA, the D.C.-based biopharmaceutical trade association; 7WireVentures, an Illinois-based backer of digital health companies; Paradise Valley healthcare executive Reginald Ballantyne; Scottsdale-based Priority Ambulance; Ohio-based Elevance Health; UnitedHealth Group; CVS Health.
Others donations coming from special interests included Google, NextEra Energy Resources, a Florida-based wholesale electricity supplier; DraftKings, the Massachusetts-based online sports gambling giant; Sports Betting Alliance; DoorDash, the food delivery service giant; Casey Wasserman, with the major California talent agency Wasserman; Green Valley-based cell tower and telecommunications attorney John Pestle; California-based solar developer Mark Boyadjian for Arevia Power; Tempe-based Carvana; and California-based clean energy developer Clearway Renew Consolidated Devco.
Multiple donations to the PAC came from the real estate sector: California-based Klein Financial Corporation; Verde Investments, a Tempe-based real estate firm; James Edward Pederson, a Phoenix-based founder of the Pederson Group; Mark Breen, and Scottsdale-based president of Atlantic Development & Investments.
Other sizable donations came from the Arizona Beverage Association; Marcia Grand, Tucson retiree and wife to late trial attorney Richard Grand; the Salt River Pinta-Maricopa Indian Community; Arizona Democratic Party; Democratic Governors Association; D.C.-based Laborers International Union of North America; and Illinois-based racial justice group Communities United.
Karrin Taylor Robson, who suspended her campaign earlier this year, accumulated over $4.7 million for her gubernatorial run. Over $2.2 million of that came from her own pockets. Her cash balance sat at $1.1 million.
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A Scottsdale priest, Fr. Don Kline of St. Bernadette Catholic Church, urged the public to decline to sign a petition advocating for the total legalization of abortion up to birth.
Fr. Kline issued his stance in a statement for the advocacy group, Decline to Sign. The priest encouraged Arizonans to inform abortion advocates seeking signatures that abortions take the life of unborn children, and to inform their neighbors and peers about the petition circulating. Fr. Kline concluded his remarks with a prayer.
“When moments like this happen in our history we know that there is evil present and we need to invite God to be present and to give us the strength to confront this evil,” said Fr. Kline. “We pray, Lord, for the wisdom and the courage to do what we need to do to support these mothers, especially those who are suffering, who are afraid, who are not sure what to do. Raise up good people to support them, that they may be open to life, to the gift of life that God has blessed them with.”
🚨 Important Message from Fr. Kline of St. Bernadette Parish in Scottsdale
"So what can we do to help. We need to get the word out. We need to DECLINE TO SIGN."
— DECLINE TO SIGN AZ Abortion Act (@DeclineAbortion) March 3, 2024
Decline to Sign arose in response to the petition launched by Arizona for Abortion Access (AAA) to put total abortion legalization as a proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot. The state currently allows abortions at up to 15 weeks’ gestation.
Fr. Kline and the local clergy aren’t alone in their opposition to the petition.
Last week, Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14) and all GOP senators signed and released a statement, the Arizona Right to Life Declaration, urging Arizonans to refuse to sign AAA.
“[I]t is an assault on God’s value and sovereignty regarding the sanctity of human life,” reads the declaration.
One of the speakers, Dr Chavira, suggested performing an ultrasound on a pregnant mom on the House floor. That would be powerful! pic.twitter.com/9fuau3K0g1
AAA’s proposed ballot question would create a “fundamental right to abortion,” meaning it would prohibit the denial, restriction, or intervention with an abortion even after fetal viability if a healthcare professional determines that the unborn child presents a threat, either to her mother’s mental or physical health. The petition defined fetal viability as sustained survival outside the womb without the intervention of “extraordinary medical measures.”
The proposed ballot question has the backing of the state’s top Democratic leaders: Gov. Katie Hobbs signed the petition in December, and a number of leading progressive organizations have issued their endorsements including ACLU of Arizona, Affirm Sexual and Reproductive Health, Healthcare Rising Arizona, Arizona List, NARAL Arizona, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona (PPAAZ).
AAA has until July 3 to gather nearly 384,000 valid signatures to put the initiative on the ballot.
At the helm of AAA are leaders in the pro-abortion movement such as former PPAAZ chair Chris Love and NARAL Arizona senior advisor Jodi Liggett, and the Tempe-based abortionist Candace Lew. The group also has the campaign finance assistance of one of the key players in Arizona’s Democratic dark money network, Dacey Montoya.
According to Arizona campaign finance records, over $4.5 million of AAA’s $5.8 million in funding has come from out of state advocacy groups:
Over $3.1 million from the Fairness Project, based in Washington, D.C.;
$1 million from Advocacy Action Fund, based in California;
$250,000 from Think Big America, based in Illinois;
$150,000 from The Green Advocacy, based in Washington, D.C.;
$20,000 from Our Children Our Future, based in California
Over $1.1 million came from Arizona-based organizations and individuals: $600,000 from Arizonans Fed Up With Failing Health; over $278,300 from Healthcare Rising Arizona; over $117,100 from PPAAZ; $100,000 from Paradise Valley philanthropist Juanita Francis; $21,300 from Arizona List; $10,000 from philanthropist and medical marijuana doctor Gina Berman; $10,000 from Lew; and $5,050 from Reproductive Freedom for All Arizona.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The District of Columbia attorney general is investigating Arabella Advisors, the dark money giant operating a national funding network for leftist nonprofits, including in Arizona.
The Washington Free Beacon discovered that the DC attorney general issued subpoenas last month to Arabella Advisors, as well as its largest clients, concerning investigative reporting about tax law aversion and illegal profiteering.
Arabella Advisors manages five nonprofits that funnel dark money funds into other leftist nonprofits and initiatives: New Venture Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund, Hopewell Fund, Windward Fund, and the North Fund. Their influence is expansive, both nationally and in Arizona.
The five nonprofits all funded One Arizona, a coalition of leftist nonprofits, who in turn funded Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), Chispa AZ, Arizona Advocacy Network, ProgressNow AZ, and Mi Familia Vota. Those nonprofits used that funding to advance their causes in Arizona’s elections.
An outgrowth of the New Venture Fund’s front initiative, We Mean Business Coalition, collaborated with the Carbon Disclosure Project and World Resources Institute to create the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Last November, the Biden administration proposed granting decision-making power on defense contracts to SBTi. In February a key initiative of SBTi, the Advanced and Indirect Mitigation (AIM) Platform, launched at GreenBiz 23 in Scottsdale.
Another New Venture Fund initiative, Campus Vote Project, has a presence across 41 states. In Arizona, the initiative coordinates with Arizona State University, Mesa Community College, South Mountain Community College, Northern Arizona University, Eastern Arizona College, Cochise College, Chandler-Gilbert Community College, and Phoenix College to increase voter turnout among college students.
Prior to the 2020 election, only Mesa Community College and South Mountain Community College were recognized by the dark money-originating initiative.
Also concerning higher education, the New Venture Fund created a scholarship program fund that partnered with Northern Arizona University (NAU) last year to pay illegal immigrant students’ tuition.
The Sixteen Thirty Fund was a major funder to the nonprofit Way to Win, which spent $110 million in key states, including in Arizona, to ensure Democratic victories in 2020. Way to Win served as the sponsor to Progress Arizona (formerly ProgressNow Arizona), who was led by Gov. Katie Hobbs’ ousted spokeswoman, Josselyn Berry, until at least 2021.
Those listed as running Progress Arizona, according to their latest available tax return (2021), were:
Emily Kirkland (executive director): Arizona Education Association communications director; former senior political strategist for the Colibri Collective; former director of Organizing for 350 Massachusetts and communications coordinator for Better Future Project
Ariel Reyes (director): Instituto political director; former Arizona Wins political director; former lobbyist for the Torres Consulting and Law Group
Elsa O’Callaghan (director): consultant with Prickly Pear Consulting; executive director of Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee; former staffer for California Rep. Karen Bass (D); and former Planned Parenthood Los Angeles staffer
Belen Sisa (director): unemployed DACA recipient; former Democracy Initiative campaign manager; former communications staffer for Democratic congressional candidates Victor Reyes (New Mexico) and Mike Siegal (Texas), independent presidential candidate Bernie Sanders; and former staffer for Arizona Wins and Mi Familia Vota
Alexa-Rio Osaki (director): director of Arizona Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AZ AANHPI) Advocates; Arizona Coalition for Change communications director
Josselyn Berry (chairman)
The Hopewell Fund and Sixteen Thirty Fund have issued much of the funding for Opportunity Arizona. Until 2021, one of the individuals behind that organization was Dacey Montoya: a principal player in many of the dark money groups, Democratic candidates, and progressive initiatives in Arizona.
Those listed running the organization, according to their latest available tax return, were:
Ben Scheel (executive director): director of Bright Phoenix; former deputy campaign manager for Phoenix city council candidate Karlene Parks
Ed Hermes (board president): attorney; Osborn Elementary School District governing board president; vice chair of the city of Phoenix’s Vision Zero Committee; Maricopa County Superior Court judge pro tempore; and Move Osborne Forward treasurer
Josh Zaragoza (board member): political consultant involved in Phoenix City Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari’s council campaign and ongoing congressional campaign; former chief of staff to Phoenix Councilwoman Laura Pastor; and former Human Rights Campaign organizer
Monica Pimentel (board member): Arizona Latino School Board Association president; Glendale Elementary School District governing board member; Maricopa County Deferred Compensation Committee member; and former Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlan (MEChA) vice president
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
