Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has set a new record for vetoes in a single legislative session, rejecting 178 bills passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature, surpassing her previous record of 143 in 2023. While Hobbs wielded her veto pen often, she also signed 264 bills into law.
The legislative session, which ended in June, underscored the deep ideological divide between the Democratic governor and Republican lawmakers, with repeated clashes over immigration, election integrity, and social policy. Still, some bipartisan efforts did make it to the governor’s desk and gained her approval.
National Security and Border Policy
Hobbs approved Senate Bill 1082, a measure barring foreign adversaries—including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea—from purchasing land in Arizona. The governor said the law would help protect military bases and infrastructure amid rising global tensions.
Yet, she vetoed a similar proposal, SB 1109, that targeted only China, along with a string of more aggressive border enforcement bills. Notably, SB 1164, known as the Arizona ICE Act, and HB 2099, both aimed to expand cooperation between state and federal authorities on immigration. Hobbs argued that decisions about immigration policy should remain in the hands of Arizonans, not Washington politicians.
Election Integrity Measures
Election security was another flashpoint. Hobbs rejected several Republican-sponsored bills she claimed would restrict voting access. Among them were:
HB 2017, which would have capped voting precincts and eliminated on-site voting centers.
HB 2046, a proposed change to audit procedures that Hobbs called inefficient.
HB 2050, requiring daily updates on signature mismatches and enabling political party access to provisional ballots.
She also vetoed HB 2703, which sought to speed up election result reporting by cutting off ballot drop-offs on Election Day, calling it a form of voter suppression.
Education Policy
On education, Hobbs opposed efforts she viewed as punitive or politically motivated. She rejected:
SB 1694, which would have barred state funding for higher ed institutions offering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) courses.
HB 2610, which would have allowed for the removal of school boards in financially mismanaged districts.
Conversely, she signed HB 2880, prohibiting unauthorized encampments on college campuses, and HB 2164, banning public schools from offering foods with synthetic chemicals like red dye 3 and potassium bromate.
Economic Legislation
Hobbs approved a slate of bills aimed at bolstering the state’s economy:
HB 2704 greenlights renovations to Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, without raising taxes.
SB 1182 ensures that construction crews can work early morning hours during Arizona’s scorching summers.
HB 2119 increases transparency by requiring municipalities to give the public at least 60 days’ notice before voting on tax hikes.
This year’s record-setting number of vetoes highlights the persistent friction between Hobbs and the Legislature. While Republicans argue their legislation reflects the will of Arizona voters, Hobbs maintains that many of the bills would have restricted personal freedoms, hurt vulnerable communities, or created unnecessary bureaucracy.
With more sessions ahead and no signs of a political truce, Arizona’s divided government is likely to remain locked in debate.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
This past November was a good time to be a Republican, especially here in Arizona. Not only did President Donald Trump win our state in a landslide victory, but Republicans expanded their majorities in both the Arizona House and Senate—despite being outspent in every single race.
While this turn of events shocked many in the corporate media who were convinced that Arizona was on its way from being a purple state to a blue state, we knew that voter registration trends told a different story.
Over the last couple of years, the gap between registered Republicans and Democrats in Arizona widened from 3.04% in 2020 to 4.03% in 2022. By April of last year, it had increased to 5.77%. And by November, it had expanded to 6.77%, a registration increase that proved decisive in President Trump’s overwhelming victory.
Now, 5 months removed from their electoral wipeout in November, there has been a lot of discussion about whether the Democrats’ political fortunes in Arizona would be reversing after their blowout loss to Trump.
Unfortunately for them, the latest voter registration numbers poured plenty of cold water on those dreams…
Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a commonsense bill that would have allowed our state to provide voters with same-day election results, moving us further away from the disastrous reporting system that is found when California voters go to their polls. Rather than our current operation of keeping Arizona voters in the dark about certain results of critical election races every two years, this legislation closely mirrored policies and procedures found in the state of Florida, which has largely perfected its vote counting over recent election cycles.
Additionally, my colleagues and I worked closely with a broad coalition of Arizona stakeholders, including most of the state’s county recorders and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors – one of the largest jurisdictions in the entire nation.
This bill was sorely needed in our state. Yet, instead of working with Republicans in good-faith to provide much-needed reforms to our elections processes, Hobbs impeded all efforts to ensure Arizona can report the vast majority of votes on election night. Her veto was a huge mistake – not just politically, but for the future of our state’s elections.
Over the past decade, Arizona has seen a seemingly increasing share of razor-thin election results, which have proved the urgent need for this kind of legislation. In 2016, my good friend Andy Biggs won his primary election for the U.S. House of Representatives by just 27 votes. Outstanding votes were not counted until days after election night concluded, leaving supporters of the top two contenders in suspense. In 2022, current Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes defeated her Republican challenger, Abraham Hamadeh, by fewer than 300 votes. Again, the votes were being processed and tabulated long after election night had come and gone.
In 2024, President Donald Trump was not officially declared the winner of Arizona until days after the election thanks to the myriad of un-tabulated votes after election night. There are many more examples of these kind of delayed calls on critical election races, where voters were left in the dark about the eventual outcomes.
Arizona’s delayed results have embodied more of the nature of California’s failed system in the past decade. Many around the nation shake their heads in disgust at California’s persistent inability to count most votes by the end of election night. Oftentimes, the results for several critical races for different levels of government remain outstanding for weeks, let alone days, following the election. Compare California’s delays with Florida’s successful system, which allows it to report the results of most of its races within hours of all polls closing. There’s no question which system I want my state to emulate.
These delays in our election results lead to massive distrust in our system and officials. Voters deserve and expect maximum transparency when it comes to the elections systems that select the men and women who govern us. However, by making voters wait days after the election has finished, government officials contribute to the rising fear about the integrity of our system. There is a better way.
As a long-time public servant, I was unwilling to stand by and allow the people of Arizona to live in perpetual anxiety every two years when elections rolled around. These voters deserve certainty and transparency in one of the fundamental pillars of our constitutional republic: our sacred votes. That’s why I introduced this bill – SB 1011 / HB 2703 – to speed up vote counting in our state, improve voter confidence and end the frustration felt by many waiting way too long for results on Election Day.
This bill should not have been politicized. I am baffled why, even after a broad coalition around Arizona endorsed these policies, legislative Democrats and Hobbs dug their heels into the ground and opposed our efforts to make reasonable and necessary fixes to the state’s elections system. The Democrats’ partisanship on this bill is not what Arizonans want from their state’s leaders. Republicans and Democrats should be able to work together to solve these issues in a bipartisan manner without resorting to political talking points. Sadly, that is not what happened in this case.
I promised the people of Arizona that this Legislature would be committed to making commonsense and proven changes to our state’s election processes, and my colleagues and I remain wholly resolved to achieve that goal. The status quo for our elections is not an option. Voters deserve more respect than to see their government officials content to leave their state as the laughingstock of the nation for its woefully slow election reporting.
To that end, Republicans in the Arizona Legislature will soon be pursuing a bill to send the question of same-day election results to voters in the next General Election. If Hobbs and Arizona Democrats do not want to be a part of the solution, we will let the voters decide. One way or another, it’s time to bring same-day election results to our great state.
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.
Governor Hobbs and Democrat legislators continue to block reforms aimed at ensuring timely and transparent election results. If they won’t act, we will—letting Arizona voters have the final say. https://t.co/WLVxYjWGGs
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.
Today, I vetoed HB2703.
I offered compromises that would have sped up our election results while protecting voting rights. Those were rejected. I won't let partisan actors write our election laws for their own benefit.
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.”
🚨@GovernorHobbs just vetoed commonsense elections reform.
Arizona lags the nation in counting ballots and in the time it takes to count ballots and report results.
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!”
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.
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.”
