WARREN PETERSEN: Katie Hobbs Seems Hellbent On Making Arizona’s Election Counting Laughing Stock Of Nation

Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a commonsense bill that would have allowed our state to provide voters with same-day election results, moving us further away from the disastrous reporting system that is found when California voters go to their polls. Rather than our current operation of keeping Arizona voters in the dark about certain results of critical election races every two years, this legislation closely mirrored policies and procedures found in the state of Florida, which has largely perfected its vote counting over recent election cycles.

Additionally, my colleagues and I worked closely with a broad coalition of Arizona stakeholders, including most of the state’s county recorders and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors – one of the largest jurisdictions in the entire nation.

This bill was sorely needed in our state. Yet, instead of working with Republicans in good-faith to provide much-needed reforms to our elections processes, Hobbs impeded all efforts to ensure Arizona can report the vast majority of votes on election night. Her veto was a huge mistake – not just politically, but for the future of our state’s elections.

Over the past decade, Arizona has seen a seemingly increasing share of razor-thin election results, which have proved the urgent need for this kind of legislation. In 2016, my good friend Andy Biggs won his primary election for the U.S. House of Representatives by just 27 votes. Outstanding votes were not counted until days after election night concluded, leaving supporters of the top two contenders in suspense. In 2022, current Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes defeated her Republican challenger, Abraham Hamadeh, by fewer than 300 votes. Again, the votes were being processed and tabulated long after election night had come and gone.

In 2024, President Donald Trump was not officially declared the winner of Arizona until days after the election thanks to the myriad of un-tabulated votes after election night. There are many more examples of these kind of delayed calls on critical election races, where voters were left in the dark about the eventual outcomes.

Arizona’s delayed results have embodied more of the nature of California’s failed system in the past decade. Many around the nation shake their heads in disgust at California’s persistent inability to count most votes by the end of election night. Oftentimes, the results for several critical races for different levels of government remain outstanding for weeks, let alone days, following the election. Compare California’s delays with Florida’s successful system, which allows it to report the results of most of its races within hours of all polls closing. There’s no question which system I want my state to emulate.

These delays in our election results lead to massive distrust in our system and officials. Voters deserve and expect maximum transparency when it comes to the elections systems that select the men and women who govern us. However, by making voters wait days after the election has finished, government officials contribute to the rising fear about the integrity of our system. There is a better way.

As a long-time public servant, I was unwilling to stand by and allow the people of Arizona to live in perpetual anxiety every two years when elections rolled around. These voters deserve certainty and transparency in one of the fundamental pillars of our constitutional republic: our sacred votes. That’s why I introduced this bill – SB 1011 / HB 2703 – to speed up vote counting in our state, improve voter confidence and end the frustration felt by many waiting way too long for results on Election Day.

This bill should not have been politicized. I am baffled why, even after a broad coalition around Arizona endorsed these policies, legislative Democrats and Hobbs dug their heels into the ground and opposed our efforts to make reasonable and necessary fixes to the state’s elections system. The Democrats’ partisanship on this bill 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. Sadly, that is not what happened in this case.

I promised the people of Arizona that this Legislature would be committed to making commonsense and proven changes to our state’s election processes, and my colleagues and I remain wholly resolved to achieve that goal. The status quo for our elections is not an option. Voters deserve more respect than to see their government officials content to leave their state as the laughingstock of the nation for its woefully slow election reporting.

To that end, Republicans in the Arizona Legislature will soon be pursuing a bill to send the question of same-day election results to voters in the next General Election. If Hobbs and Arizona Democrats do not want to be a part of the solution, we will let the voters decide. One way or another, it’s time to bring same-day election results to our great state.

 Warren Petersen is the president of the Arizona state Senate

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