Arizona’s reputation for being unable to count votes in a timely manner could survive a little longer now that Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed legislation that would have delivered same-day results for future Arizona elections.
The legislation, which closely mirrored election policies and procedures found in the State of Florida, would have ensured that approximately 95% of votes across the state would be tabulated by Election Night, giving certainty to Arizonans for key races on their ballots.
Arizona State Senate President Warren Petersen accused the Governor of “irresponsibly preventing Arizona from providing same-day election results after vetoing a wildly popular bill today to speed up vote counting.”
“The Governor’s veto is a huge mistake. This was a missed opportunity to increase voter confidence and reduce frustration on election night,” said Petersen. “Instead of working with Republicans in good-faith to provide much-needed reforms to our election processes, the Governor impeded all efforts to ensure Arizona can report the vast majority of votes on Election Night. This 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.”
In her veto letter, the Governor claimed that the “bill effectively ends the Active Early Voting List, gutting the vote by mail program that countless Arizonans rely on. This policy does nothing to speed up election results, but does make it harder to vote.”
However, the legislation, embodied Senate Bill 1011 and House Bill 2703, protected early voting. It would have allowed voters who choose to drop off their mail-in ballots at an early voting location after 7 p.m. the Friday before election day to tabulate those ballots on site in Maricopa County, which represents 65% of the population of the state. In the other 14 counties, voters who choose to drop off their mail-in ballot at a polling location, after 7 p.m. the Friday before Election Day, would have been required to show ID so that county recorders can skip the time-consuming signature verification process and speed up results. Voters would have still been able to drop off their mail-in ballots without check-in for 24 days prior to Election Day. After this date, voters with a mail-in ballot who do not wish to show ID at the polls would have been required to drop off their ballot at the county recorder’s office.
To ensure that voters are not disenfranchised by the change, the bill added three additional days of early voting: the Saturday, Sunday, and Monday before Election Day, which were previously limited to emergency voting only. The bill also mandated public schools be used as voting locations to expand opportunities to vote and create more convenience for voters.
“This commonsense bill had the support of most Arizona county recorders and election directors; as well as the Maricopa County Recorder and the Board of Supervisors, who are responsible for processing 65% of this state’s ballots. My sincere gratitude goes out to the Republican legislators who voted for this bill,” Swoboda added.
.@KatieHobbs just vetoed HB2703 despite Arizona’s election officials near unanimous SUPPORT for the bill
HB2703 was essential to ensure that AZ’s elections results
are reported in a secure, accurate & TIMELY mannerHB2703 was wildly popular
across the political spectrum… pic.twitter.com/VxoTvdqlvx— Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap (@azjustinheap) February 18, 2025