AZ GOP lawmakers tout new ballot counting bill despite veto threat from Gov. Hobbs

PHOENIX - After some sharp criticisms over what Republican state lawmakers in Arizona felt were slow election results in November, they say they have a solution.

"After the election, we heard from our constituents who were extremely frustrated after waiting days and days to find out who won the election," said State Senate President Warren Petersen. "The first bill to hit the Governor’s desk is a bill that will give us election results the night of the election."

However, GOP lawmakers do face an obstacle when it comes to turning legislation into an actual Arizona law.

Bill faces opposition from Governor

What we know:

The bill, known as HB2703 or SB1101, would make several changes to the Arizona election process.

If it becomes law, the bill would make several changes to Arizona's election process, such as allowing ballots dropped off by voters in Maricopa County to be counted on-site, if the ballots were dropped off at an early voting location after 7:00 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day.

For the other 14 counties, voters would be required to show identification if they drop off their mail-in ballot at a polling location after the Friday before Election Day. They would also have the choice to drop off their ballot at the Country Recorder’s Office.

Three additional days of early voting that were previously limited to emergency voting only would also be added.

Republican lawmakers say the bill will speed up election results, and expand voting. However, Governor Katie Hobbs, who is a Democrat, has made her opinions on this bill known, in a post made to X.

What Gov. Hobbs Is Saying:

"Legislators are attempting to jam through a partisan bill that guts vote by mail and makes it harder to vote. 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."

Hobbs also argued the bill makes it harder to vote by restricting late early drop off, and effectively ending the state's Active Early Voting List. She called the bill a poison pill that she will reject, unless more compromise was involved.

Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, also said he is opposed to the bill, saying it's focused on the wrong goal.

What Fontes Is Saying:

"This really isn’t going to give them what they’re asking for," Fontes said.

Fontes also said lawmakers are too preoccupied with getting the media networks to call Arizona on the night of the elections, which some people confuse with the actual certified results that traditionally take days to count.

"What they are getting confused about is the network call isn’t fast enough for them, and that’s because we have narrow margins in Arizona," said Fontes. "We count our votes faster than California, we count our votes faster than Utah, and most years, we count our votes faster than Florida."

Fontes' answer did not satisfy Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda.

"When Florida was a swing state, Florida still, with their larger population, had their results in far ahead of Arizona," said Swoboda.