Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed dozens of bill in her short tenure, however it is her latest veto that has left a bipartisan group of lawmakers “stunned.”
Hobbs vetoed HB 2322, a bipartisan-supported election reform bill, sponsored by State Representative Alexander Kolodin, that would codify in state law specific signature verification rules to confirm the identity of early voters – rules that were written by the Governor when she served as Arizona’s Secretary of State.
“When Governor Katie Hobbs took office, she said that she’d ‘find common ground’ and work across party lines,” said Kolodin. “Right now, Arizona has no laws setting any signature verification rules for early ballots, which help ensure that only lawful early voter’s vote. What ground could be more common making her own rules the law? Instead, her veto letter for HB 2322, for which 16 Democratic House members voted, indicates that instead of legally enforceable rules, she would like ‘ongoing’ signature verification ‘guidance’ that is non-binding and can be changed on a whim by a single person. That is hardly democratic – or sober and responsible governance.”
In a release issued Wednesday, Kolodin noted that HB 2322 was the product of collaborative work across party lines. It had passed the House with bipartisan support and was not opposed by counties or the current Secretary of State Fontes.
Hobbs’ reasoning for veto was that the guidelines are already in the Elections Procedure Manual (EPM), however elections attorney, Jen Wright, formerly with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office pointed out that Hobbs is mistaken in a tweet.
“The guidelines are not in the EPM. 🤦🏻♀️In fact @GeneralBrnovich sued @katiehobbs asking the court to require her to put the signature guidelines in the EPM so they would have the force & effect of law. She objected to including them in the EPM. 🤷🏻♀️👇🏼,” wrote Wright.
“Everyone should be aware, that Katie Hobbs wrote that language,” tweeted House Elections Committee Chair Rep. Jacqueline Parker. “It’s her language & her guidelines that she just vetoed… I wonder if she even knows that. We specifically put that language through as a test to see if she’s even reading these bills. What a clueless idiot! 🤣🤦🏻♀️”
When #HB2322 was brought to the Floor, Democrats made a friendly amendment and the majority of their caucus alongside a bipartisan supermajority of the House supported the Bill.
Today, @KatieHobbs vetoed the Bill.
The Bill affirmed Katie Hobbs' own language that SHE WROTE. pic.twitter.com/lvYwZ3DB4K
— Arizona Majority (@azmajority) April 6, 2023
Hobbs has vetoed 37 bills just this year alone. The record number of vetoes set in a single Legislative Session is 58. It was set in 2005 by Governor Janet Napolitano.