Democratic Governor Vetoes Legislation Aimed At Providing Faster Election Results

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed legislation which aimed to speed up the ballot-counting process in the state’s elections.

The Democratic governor claimed the bill would disenfranchise eligible voters.

“Making it less convenient to vote is something I have consistently said I cannot support,” Hobbs wrote in a letter, according to FOX 10 Phoenix.

BREAKING: Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D) just vetoed a bill that would have given the state same-day election results and sped up vote counting.

The bill mirrored Florida’s system. Now, it’s halted.

The move comes after Americans had to wait on Arizona for many hours or… pic.twitter.com/cX7MH9ewVt

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 18, 2025

ABC15 Arizona reports:

HB 2703 was set to address on-site tabulation of ballots for voters who choose to drop off their mail-in ballots at an early voting location after 7 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day in Maricopa County.

“Today, I vetoed HB 2703. While I too want faster election results, the solution should not needlessly restrict Arizona citizens’ freedom to vote, or undermine the learning and safety of students in public school districts. This legislation effectively ends the Active Early Voting List, something that has nothing to do with faster election results, but disenfranchises voters by adding additional steps for the hundreds of thousands of Arizona voters who prefer to vote by mail,” Hobbs said, in a statement.

Senate President Warren Peterson previously said that votes in Arizona’s largest county would not take nearly as long to count and report with this bill.

ADVERTISEMENT

In a response released Tuesday, Petersen called Hobbs’ veto a “huge mistake.”

“This was a missed opportunity to increase voter confidence and reduce frustration on election night,” Petersen’s statement read, in part.

“Katie Hobbs just vetoed HB2703, a bill that would have guaranteed Arizonans would know the winner of local, statewide, and federal elections the NIGHT OF the election. Arizona has been the laughing stock of national politics because it takes 3-4 weeks to deliver a final canvass, and Arizona’s Democrat Governor just vetoed a common sense bill that could have changed all of it,” Turning Point USA Founder & CEO Charlie Kirk commented.

“A good rule of thumb, the longer it takes to count votes, the more opportunities there are for fraud, mistrust, and voter frustration. We must become a state that knows the winner and loser on election night. We must not settle for less,” he added.

Unbelievable!!

Katie Hobbs just vetoed HB2703, a bill that would have guaranteed Arizonans would know the winner of local, statewide, and federal elections the NIGHT OF the election.

Arizona has been the laughing stock of national politics because it takes 3-4 weeks to deliver… https://t.co/yu2eFIEXq0

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 18, 2025

Per FOX 10 Phoenix:

Had Gov. Hobbs signed HB2703 into law, several changes would have been made 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.

In a letter to state lawmakers, Gov. Hobbs said she vetoed HB2703 for a number of reasons.

Per Gov. Hobbs, the bill would “effectively end” the Active Early Voting List, which she said has nothing to do with faster election results, and would also have the effect of disenfranchising voters by “adding additional steps for the hundreds of thousands of Arizona voters who prefer to vote by mail.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“Making it less convenient to vote is something I have consistently said I cannot support,” read a portion of the letter.

In addition, Gov. Hobbs said she proposed a number of compromises on the bill, like Friday early ballot drop-off restrictions, protecting the Active Early Voting List, cross-county portability of voter registration, and expanded assistance for eligible voters to return their ballots in a timely manner.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.

View the original article here.