Initiative to Enshrine Mail-In, Early Voting in Constitution

By Zachery Schmidt

An Arizona ballot initiative seeks to enshrine mail-in and early in-person voting in the state constitution.

The Free, Fair and Secure Elections Act would guarantee Arizonans could vote in person on Election Day at county centers, request mail-in ballots for elections and continue voting early until the Monday before statewide elections.

Supporters are trying to put the measure on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. For that to happen, they must collect 383,293 signatures by July 2.

The elections initiative would prevent the Legislature from limiting the early voting period. It also says voting restrictions need to be “narrowly tailored and necessary to serve a compelling state interest.”

Furthermore, the initiative states Arizona must issue free ID cards to people without a driver’s license and that election results would be determined only by American citizens eligible to vote.

Stacy Pearson, co-founder of the public relations firm Lumen Strategies and a backer of the elections act, said there is an “absolute concerted effort from the White House to the Arizona state Capitol to make it more difficult to vote early and by mail.”

Pearson co-founded Lumen Strategies with Chad Campbell, who left the company to serve as Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs’ chief of staff. Campbell previously served as a Democratic state representative.

Pearson told The Center Square that Arizonans need to “take control away from politicians who are bending to the will” of President Donald Trump and put protection for voters in the state Constitution. Once added to the Constitution, the protections would be difficult to remove, she added.

Over the last couple of years, the Legislature has tried numerous times to “make it harder to vote” in Arizona, Pearson said.

Hobbs has vetoed a plethora of election-related bills the Legislature has passed since she became governor.

In 2023, the Democratic governor vetoed bills that would have modified early ballot lists, banned artificial intelligence for ballot processing and prohibited ranked-choice voting.

The following year, she axed bills that would have prevented county recorders from issuing voter registration cards to people with a mailing address outside Arizona and would have allowed federal political candidates to use observers at voting centers.

In 2025, the governor vetoed bills that would have allowed for hand-counted audits, required paper ballots to use watermarks and invisible ink for security and prevented the state attorney general from prosecuting county recorders who don’t certify elections.

The state’s access to early ballot and mail-in voting is determined by the Legislature, Pearson noted, but added Arizonans can’t “rely on the state Legislature to enshire these protections.”

Arizona has been voting by mail for more than 30 years, she noted, adding that more than 80% of Arizonans used the state’s mail-in voting systems.

“This has to be a project from the people for the people. Our state Legislature is doing the exact opposite, with the direction from the president,” Pearson said.

She also noted Arizona Republicans use mail-in voting and are the “largest block of mail-in voters.”

“This isn’t something we’re going to have to try to court folks to consider. This is what the voters want,” she noted.

Pearson said politicians “are completely out of step with what Arizona voters want and currently use.”

“They want common-sense voter ID law, and they want early and mail-in access,” Pearson explained.