Katie Hobbs vetoed a trio of Republican election bills

Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed her first Republican election bills this year. 

On April 10, Hobbs vetoed bills passed by the GOP-controlled legislature that would ban those convicted of ballot abuse from holding elected office and prevent county recorders from providing voter registration cards to most of those whose mailing addresses are outside of the state. 

She also vetoed a bill that would have required political parties that opt to conduct their own presidential primary election instead of participating in the publicly administered one to provide accommodations to allow disabled voters and overseas military personnel to participate. 

Those are only a few of the numerous election-related bills that Republicans in the state legislature proposed this year, with many of them failing to make it to a vote in both chambers. 

One of the bills she vetoed, House Bill 2612, was aimed at stopping people like San Luis City Councilwoman Gloria Lopez-Torres, who was convicted of misdemeanor ballot abuse last year, from holding public office. 

Lopez-Torres was one of four Democratic women in San Luis convicted of ballot abuse for collecting and returning a total of 12 ballots from other voters in the 2020 primary election. As part of her sentence, Lopez-Torres was banned from holding elected office in the future, but was allowed to serve out her current term on the city council, which ends in December. Conservative media was in an uproar earlier this year when the council appointed her to the position of vice-mayor.  

Republicans in the state legislature made the collection and return of ballots not belonging to a family member or housemate illegal in 2016. Prior to that, the collection of marked and sealed ballots was a common practice in San Luis, which doesn’t have at-home mail service, as well as in other areas across the state. Critics pejoratively refer to the practice as “ballot harvesting.”

Hobbs provided a two-sentence explanation for her veto of the bill, saying that the legislation is unnecessary.

Hobbs also described the bill to limit mailing of voter registration cards, House Bill 2404, as unnecessary, writing in her veto letter that state law and the Elections Procedure Manual, which carries the force of law, “already outline the process when a voter provides a new residential address that is located outside the state.” 

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. John Gillette, of Kingman, said during a House Municipal Oversight and Elections Committee meeting on Jan. 31 that the measure was aimed at helping to stop voter registration fraud and to help county recorders clean up voter rolls. 

But some Democrats worried that the bill would inadvertently impact college students and snowbirds who reside outside the state for a portion of the year but whose main residences are in Arizona. 

Republican Rep. Alexander Kolodin of Scottsdale, who sponsored the presidential primary election legislation, House Bill 2393, slammed Hobbs for vetoing the bill. It sought to guarantee that members of the military who reside overseas could vote in an alternative presidential preference election, if a political party chose to conduct one.   

“Governor Hobbs’ decision to veto this bill is not only irresponsible but also detrimental to the democratic rights of some of our most vulnerable citizens,” Kolodin said in a written statement. “This action leaves a critical aspect of our state law ambiguous, failing to secure the voting rights of individuals with disabilities and our dedicated servicemembers. At a time when ensuring access to the democratic process should be of utmost importance, this veto represents a significant step backward. It’s as if the Governor believes maintaining a murky legal landscape is preferable to granting clear and equitable voting rights to all Arizonans. This isn’t just about policy – it’s about ensuring every voice is heard and valued in our democracy.”

In her veto letter, Hobbs wrote that, if the state decided to change the way it conducted its presidential preference elections, that decision should come with bipartisan input and support. 

Kolodin’s bill passed along party lines in both chambers of the legislature.

Some of the proposals from Republicans this year that would have made extreme changes to Arizona election laws are now dead in the water, such as House Bill 2876, which would have ended no-excuse early voting, by far the most popular way to vote in the state. 

That bill made it through the House but never got a hearing in the Senate. Likewise, House Bill 2547 was approved in the House but was shot down by a vote of 15-15 in the Senate. 

But House Concurrent Resolution 2032, which would ask the voters in the November election to ban no-excuse early voting and force the use of precincts capped at 1,000 voters, is still alive and Hobbs does not have the power to veto it. 

Last year, Hobbs’ first as governor, she vetoed a record 143 Republican bills. So far this year, her count is at 29.