by Staff Reporter | Feb 19, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a key bill aimed to speed up election results on Tuesday.
Hobbs rejected HB 2703 (SB 1011). The legislation proposed modifying the deadlines and methods by which a voter could return their voted early ballot in person, restricting early ballot drop-offs to vote collection locations on the Friday preceding Election Day. The bill also allowed for on-site tabulation during the period of early voting, including on the weekends and on the Monday before Election Day.
The legislation also required voters in larger counties such as Maricopa County (the fourth most populous county in the nation) to confirm their address every election cycle in order to be eligible to receive ballots by mail. Voters in smaller counties would also have to confirm their addresses to receive mail ballots, but only every four years.
In a statement on the veto, House Speaker Steve Montenegro lamented Hobbs’ continued refusal to approve reforms speeding up elections while making them more transparent.
The speaker alluded to a planned attempt by the GOP to get the legislation passed without Hobbs’ approval: by putting the changes on the ballot for voters to decide.
“Governor Hobbs and Democrat legislators continue to block reforms aimed at ensuring timely and transparent election results,” said Montenegro. “If they won’t act, we will—letting Arizona voters have the final say.”
Governor Hobbs claimed the changes made by HB 2703 created partisan benefits for Republicans. Hobbs cited aspects of the legislation that reformed the Active Early Voting List and late-early ballot drop-offs.
“After adding partisan policies that do nothing to speed up election results and refusing to compromise to protect voting access, it’s clear to me the focus of this bill is disenfranchising voters for partisan gain, not speeding up election results,” said Hobbs.
The public policy organization Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AFEC) released a statement calling Hobbs’ decision a “foolish, stubborn, and politically minded” fodder for keeping Arizona “the laughingstock of the country” in the next election.
“Governor Hobbs is more interested in catering to a fringe minority of her party than the vast majority of Arizonans who were calling for this necessary and reasonable election reform,” said Scot Mussi, AFEC president. “This action from the Governor’s Office is not what our state expects from our leaders when there are clear procedural problems to address on issues that are central to the government’s purview.”
House Minority Leader Oscar De Los Santos claimed the rejection of HB 2703 crossed party lines, citing polling results from Noble Predictive Insights as proof.
The Republican Governors Association (RGA) issued a statement criticizing Hobbs’ veto as a rejection of “common sense” policymaking.
“Katie Hobbs is failing to sign even the most common sense bills being placed on her desk,” said the RGA. “Arizona lags the nation in the time it takes to count ballots and report results. The insane wait in reporting results is bad for governance, and causes chaos and uncertainty for voters, elected officials, and the country.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Feb 16, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The Arizona legislature has passed the combined SB 1011 / HB 2703, sending the bill to the Governor’s desk. SB 1011 and HB 2703 would streamline the state’s election day processes to dramatically speed up election results and bring frustrated voters same-day returns.
To achieve the desired result of a speedier and more precise election outcome, the bills cut off all ballot drop-offs at collection locations to the Friday prior to election day and require voters in Arizona’s most populous counties to confirm their address every election cycle to receive a ballot by mail. For more sparsely populated counties, this would be every four years.
Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, celebrated the passage of the bill saying, “After one too many Election Nights (and weeks) of delayed results, Arizona legislators have done the right thing, crafting a bill that gives our state same-day results.”
He added, “Voters are exhausted of watching this slow-motion train wreck every November. Other states have same-day election results, and it is high time that Arizona enters the 21st Century in this regard. We call on Governor Katie Hobbs to sign this carefully crafted and negotiated bill into law.”
Following the passage of the bill in the State Senate, President Warren Petersen told Fox10, “After the election, we heard from our constituents who were extremely frustrated after waiting days and days to find out who won the election. The first bill to hit the Governor’s desk is a bill that will give us election results the night of the election.”
In a post to X, the AZGOP hailed the passage of the bill and demanded that Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs sign the bill writing, “GREAT NEWS FOR ARIZONA! Both the Arizona House of Representatives and Senate have passed the bill that would give our voters SAME-DAY results in future elections. This is what the people of Arizona have asked for, and our legislators have delivered. Now, it’s up to @GovernorHobbs to listen to the voices of Arizonans who are tired of waiting days and days for the results of critical election races. Governor, leave your partisan politics outside your office and SIGN THE BILL!”
On Friday, the party account posted morning, afternoon and evening calling upon Hobbs to sign the bill and “Give Arizona same-day election results!”
As reported by Fox, Hobbs has voiced serious opposition to the bill, arguing that it makes it harder to vote by cutting off early drop-off and effectively shuttering the state’s Active Early Voting List. “Legislators are attempting to jam through a partisan bill that guts vote by mail and makes it harder to vote,” she claimed. “I offered common sense compromises to count votes faster, and they were rejected. I refuse to let extremists make it harder for Arizonans to vote.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Feb 13, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
A new poll shows a possible shift in power that could unseat Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs and potentially see Republicans regain control of the Arizona Governor’s office.
The poll was conducted by Kreate Strategies and commissioned by American Encore. It found that likely voters in the Arizona gubernatorial race prefer Congressman Andy Biggs over Gov. Hobbs in a head-to-head matchup by one point. Karrin Taylor Robson trails the Democrat incumbent in a head-to-head matchup by 2 points.
Notably, Biggs significantly closes the gap among No Party Preference (NPP) voters with only 13% undecided, while the matchup between Robson and Hobbs leaves a wide swath of undecided voters at 22%.
Congressman Biggs was also viewed more favorably than Hobbs and Robson with 42% finding him favorable versus Hobbs with 41% and Robson with 28%. The poll also indicated that Robson may be suffering from a lack of name recognition compared to her more prominent opponents.
In a statement to AZ Free News, American Encore President Sean Noble said, “This poll shows that Congressman Andy Biggs is the best positioned to recapture the Governor’s office for Republicans in 2026. We already know that it will be a challenging cycle with it being a mid-term for President Trump, so it is critical for Republican primary voters to nominate the candidate who has the best chance to beat Hobbs and be ready to go on day one. Andy Biggs is that candidate.”
When polled on whether Arizona is on the right or wrong track, the likely voters delivered a stern rebuke to Hobbs, which Noble said highlighted her vulnerability in the upcoming election.
Above all, the race for Governor in 2026 is shaping up to be a hotly contested election, with Biggs showing a massive early advantage in the primary over Robson, and Hobbs sitting in a precarious position.
Full poll available here. Crosstabs available here.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Feb 11, 2025 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A Republican lawmaker is demanding answers of Arizona’s Democrat Chief Executive over a looming financial crisis of a vital program for parents and children.
On Wednesday, State Representative David Livingston sent a letter to Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, “renewing his warning over the imminent insolvency of the state’s Developmental Disabilities (DDD) program, calling out [the governor’s] administration for its fiscal mismanagement and lack of legislative consultation.”
In a statement that accompanied the press release sharing the contents of the letter, Livingston, the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said, “This administration has made major financial commitments without consulting the Legislature, and now families are staring down the consequences of an unsustainable program. Governor Hobbs must explain why her agencies are making decisions without oversight and what her plan if this program collapses.”
Livingston added, “Under Governor Hobbs’ watch, the cost of this program has exploded from $750 million to $1.5 billion. The Legislature was blindsided by these numbers, and we need immediate answers on how the administration plans to rein in spending before Arizona families are left with nothing.”
The longtime Arizona legislator wrote in his letter, “As I continue to untangle the executive budget proposal, I am most disturbed to learn that decisions made by your departments have threatened the operations of the State’s Developmental Disabilities program. The House Appropriation Committee was briefed last week, less than two weeks after your original budget proposal, that DDD’s supplemental needs have increased from $109 million just to keep the program from ceasing operations in April. This is alarming to both the Legislature and families using this program.”
Representative Livingston noted that his committee “was briefed that cost overruns are for three primary reasons: growth in eligibility, increased rates, and the continuation of the COVID-era Parents as Paid Caregivers Program.” He highlighted that “AHCCCS not only made these decisions without consultation of the Legislature, but without consultation of DDD, the manager of the program.”
The questions Representative Livingston asked of the Governor’s Office are as follows:
- “Will your office choose the same posture this year and what is your plan when the DDD program must discontinue operations in the Spring?” (referring to the lateness of budget negotiations between the Governor and legislative Republicans)
- “Can you explain why AHCCCS makes decisions without input?”
- “I need to know as soon as possible what AHCCCS and DDD plan to do to control the spiraling costs in these programs.”
- “What oversight and controls can be implemented to relieve the pressure on these employees and ensure uniform implementation?” (referring to reports of pressure by parents on Service Coordinators to increase hours, affecting the spending within the program)
This financial crisis over DDD adds to a rocky start of the 57th Regular Session between Arizona Republican legislators and Governor Hobbs in the third year of a divided state government.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Feb 7, 2025 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A powerful Arizona legislator is continuing to shine the light on the governor’s reported shenanigans with the state’s finances.
Earlier this week, Arizona State Senator T.J. Shope introduced SB 1612 “to hold the Executive Branch accountable and prevent any future conflicts of interest from arising within the state procurement process” by “remov[ing] an exemption allowing the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) to create their own procurement code.” The bill would also “prohibit an agency and state employees from destroying notes and documents created during a request for proposal (RFP) [and] require anyone responding to a state issued RFP or applying for a state administered grant to disclose any donations made to the Governor and campaign affiliates.”
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen is a cosponsor of the legislation.
The need for this bill, according to Shope’s press release, became heightened after “an administrative law judge concluded AHCCCS improperly awarded contracts for healthcare services for 26,000 elderly and physically disabled individuals enrolled in the Arizona Long Term Care System…based on several factors, including violations of statutes and rules by AHCCCS, prejudice, a lack of transparency, contract awards based on best interests of the agency and not the state, an arbitrary and flawed ranking system of bid proposals, as well as deceptive criteria provided by AHCCS to health care companies on the evaluations of their bid proposals.”
In a statement accompanying the announcement of his bill, Senator Shope said, “The Hobbs Administration has a track record of engaging in questionable and unethical practices where favoritism is given, using taxpayer dollars, to those who are close to or have provided benefits to the Governor, her cabinet, and her allies. This legislation should help address these scandals and prevent future unfair advantages from being provided. Arizonans expect their elected officials to make decisions based on what’s best for the state and its citizens; not what’s best for their own personal agendas and political bank accounts.”
Last year, The Arizona Republic broke a story about the Arizona Department of Child Safety “approv[ing] what amounts to a nearly 60% increase in the rate that Sunshine Residential Homes Inc. charges to care for a child for a day.” The alleged action to approve the rate increase for the one organization was made while “DCS has denied pay increases to home operators and cut loose 16 providers during the contract renewal process.” The Republic also asserted that “no other standard group home provider was approved for any rate increase during Hobbs’ tenure.”
After the story ran in the Republic, Shope sent a letter on June 5 to both Attorney General Kris Mayes and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, asking both officials to “examine the facts surrounding the Department of Child Safety’s alleged decision to approve a nearly 60% rate increase for Sunshine Residential Homes and determine if conduct by any of the involved parties warrants a criminal or civil investigation.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
