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Mon, 08 Sep 2025 18:26:12 +0000
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Dear Arizona, don’t Florida this up.
/news/2025/09/08/dear-arizona-dont-florida-this-up/
Mon, 08 Sep 2025 18:26:12 +0000
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The Florida Surgeon General has made headlines for proposing a policy scrapping vaccine mandates, proudly placing politics over Floridians’ health. And while this may sound like just another “Florida Man” […]
The post Dear Arizona, don’t Florida this up. first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.]]>
Ashley Chambers
The Florida Surgeon General has made headlines for proposing a policy scrapping vaccine mandates, proudly placing politics over Floridians’ health. And while this may sound like just another “Florida Man” story, Arizona shouldn’t shrug off the lunacy—because our state legislature is showing signs of catching the same anti-science cold. Worryingly, some Arizona lawmakers have been busy reposting to their social media Florida’s vaccine rollback announcement like it’s an achievement — not a public health disaster in the making.
Here’s the thing: when one state signals that facts and science don’t matter, others take it as permission to do the same. And Arizona has already proven itself particularly vulnerable to the virus of misinformation about childhood vaccines, which have prevented outbreaks of diseases that would destroy our daycares, schools, medical system and our state economy. Over the past few years, our state lawmakers have proposed bills not on increasing access or confidence in vaccines, but instead imposing barriers to strong immunization policy and actively discouraging vaccines, under the guise of “informed choice.” Chipping away at the wall of community immunity—state by state, bad bill by bad bill—puts us all at risk, and is nothing that should be celebrated or replicated.
If Arizona decides to follow Florida down this path, we’re opening the door to outbreaks that could have been prevented. Lower vaccination rates mean higher risks for the elderly, newborns, cancer patients, and others who depend on herd immunity to stay safe. And once a disease starts spreading, no amount of finger-pointing will undo the damage. And all this is set against the backdrop of an active measles outbreak in Mohave County, where their school immunization rates are well-below the level needed to create community immunity from disease. Many other counties could be next.
And it doesn’t just stop at schools! Picture this: you’re on the table for open-heart surgery, and no one can say for sure whether your surgeon is vaccinated — against anything. Bloodborne diseases? Respiratory infections? Who knows! You should be able to focus on getting well, not catching something and getting sicker. Some lawmakers want to frame their views on vaccines as a question of freedom. I call nonsense. You don’t get to redefine “freedom” as the right to endanger your neighbors or to trick people into thinking that the risks of vaccines and the risk of diseases are the same. Unequivocally, they are not. Diseases are dangerous, vaccines are safe.
Parents, we need to be prepared for the scenario that our lawmakers could propose to end our vaccine requirements in this state. Don’t let lawmakers make our state less safe for ourselves and our babies. Arizona, don’t Florida this scenario up.
Ashley Chambers is a lawyer and executive director at Arizona Families for Vaccines, a bipartisan nonprofit focused on building a grassroots, pro-public health movement in Arizona.The post Dear Arizona, don’t Florida this up. first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.]]>
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Quicker election results bill clears first hurdle, Dems reject it
/news/2025/01/16/quicker-election-results-bill-clears-first-hurdle-dems-reject-it/
Thu, 16 Jan 2025 21:31:08 +0000
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A bill that aims to accelerate vote counting in Arizona passed its first test Jan. 15 after the Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee approved it 4-3 along party lines.
The post Quicker election results bill clears first hurdle, Dems reject it first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.]]>
A bill that aims to accelerate vote counting in Arizona passed its first test Jan. 15 after the Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee approved it 4-3 along party lines.
SB1011 would eliminate early ballots delivered on Election Day and instead require those voters to drop off their ballots by 7 p.m. on the Friday before an election. An amended version of the bill removes the requirement for voting locations to be open on the Saturday and Monday before the Election Day for in-person early voting and would allow county recorder offices to send ballots up to 29 days before an election. The previous version called for ballots to be sent up to 27 days before an election.
Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert
Other provisions would prohibit public school principals from denying a request to use their school as a polling place and allowing voters to show identification instead of having to verify their ballot signature.
The bill is part of a larger effort gaining momentum among Republicans in both chambers who want to emulate Florida and get results on election night instead of days later.
The House ad hoc Committee on Election Integrity and Florida-Style Voting also met Jan. 15 to consider a concurrent resolution that would ask voters if they prefer an election system similar to Florida’s.
Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, filed HCR2013, which proposes moving the late-early ballot drop off date to the Friday before an election like the Senate bill.
The House measure would also eliminate the signature verification process by giving early voters a unique voter ID number. Kolodin said this was a faster way to verify ballots for election officials and it eliminated changed or irregular signatures from voters who may have difficulty signing their signature consistently.
One provision of Kolodin’s measure that some election officials say could be a challenge is a requirement for early voters to verify their addresses with county recorders before every election. Kolodin said county recorders in Florida do this practice through online web portals or even some county recorders will have their staff call voters directly.
Alexander Kolodin
Critics say the move to a Florida-style election process would potentially limit voting access, especially in rural areas, cause confusion among voters and not provide contingencies for unforeseen circumstances that may hinder someone from dropping off their ballot in a timely manner, such as forgetting their identification card.
There are concerns regarding potential obstacles for voters with disabilities and others who may need a caregiver to drop off their ballot.
Republicans have countered by saying the bill would provide voters plenty of time to return their ballots.
Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, who introduced the Senate bill, testified before the Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee, saying speedier elections are a “constituent issue” rooted in frustration over slow election results.
“I think I received more frustration over this issue, more texts, more comments than almost any other issue since I’ve been here,” Peterson said. “So I committed to making sure Arizona could be a state, just like so many other states, who have election results (the) night of instead being the state who delivered their electoral results last.”
Sen. Analise Ortiz, D-Phoenix, said she disagreed with the idea that people want quicker election results so much that they’re willing to sacrifice voter access.
“I think this bill is an absolutely atrocious attempt to make it harder to drop off your early ballots,” Ortiz said. “This nonsense about so many people wanting election results right away, and therefore we have to jeopardize voter access, is just ridiculous.”
Ortiz said the Democrats have a plan of their own to speed up election results that would include expanding in-person voting during the weekend and Monday before Election Day, removing duplicative identification requirements and increasing the funding for county election departments.
Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap spoke in support of the bill, citing concerns over the security and integrity of the state’s elections.
“I think that, across the board, concerns over election integrity have been a major issue in Arizona for a very long time,” said Heap, a former state lawmaker and an attorney.
Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly expressed concerns over accessibility, especially in rural areas outside of Tucson where there are limited buildings to set up voting facilities, she said. Cázares-Kelly also said there are no drop boxes in Pima County.
“There’s major concerns about reducing the time of being able to return a ballot, especially for household members who are returning (a ballot) on behalf of another in a rural area,” she said. “I think that is very much an issue.”
The post Quicker election results bill clears first hurdle, Dems reject it first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.]]>
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Republicans to strive for speedy election system like Florida
/news/2025/01/11/republicans-to-strive-for-speedy-election-system-like-florida/
Sat, 11 Jan 2025 19:26:19 +0000
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Speeding up Arizona’s election results will be a major policy goal for ...
The post Republicans to strive for speedy election system like Florida first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.]]>
Speeding up Arizona’s election results will be a major policy goal for Republican leaders at the Legislature this session.
Legislative leaders in the House and Senate have outlined a plan to make the state’s election systems similar to Florida, with the intent of having nearly all votes tabulated by the end of election night.
The proposal is being pushed by many Republicans, notably Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert. Petersen prefiled SB1011, which aims to eliminate mail ballots delivered on Election Day, or so-called “late earlies.” Election officials attribute delays in election results to late earlies because of the time it takes to verify signatures.
The measure is also supported by Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas Galvin, who said on Jan. 6 he plans to have the county’s election system undergo a comprehensive audit conducted by a reliable party.
“People want election results faster and when misinformation has time to fester, it breeds mistrust in our system,” Galvin said.
The proposed law would move the deadline to drop off an early ballot at a polling place to 7 p.m. the Friday before Election Day instead of on Election Day. It also proposes to eliminate emergency voting centers to instead just expand early voting to include the Monday and weekend before an election.
If the bill becomes law, anyone who tries to deliver a late early ballot on Election Day would be required to present identification and sign an affidavit in order to turn in their ballot.
Galvin said he hopes the proposal can gain bipartisan support in the Legislature, but Democrats want to ensure any election bill doesn’t make it more difficult for people to vote. Galvin’s vision is to have 95% of votes tabulated on election night.
“Faster election results should not come at the expense of voters’ rights,” said Gov. Katie Hobbs’s spokesman Christian Slater in a written statement. “Governor Hobbs is open to proposals to speed up the counting process, but any solution must protect Arizonans’ freedom to make their voices heard at the ballot box. She remains committed to a voting process that maintains accessibility and integrity for all Arizona voters and guarantees safe, secure and fair elections.”
There is growing momentum for the idea. A recent poll from Noble Predictive Insights that showed nearly 52% of respondents expressed frustration with how long it takes the state to finalize election results, despite having increased confidence in the election process.
Republicans have also been united on the issue. Political consultant Doug Cole said that aspect was particularly key since there has been infighting within the party in recent years on trust in elections.
“There’s a lot of parties that have not been on the same page recently that are coalescing around the idea,” Cole said.
Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, said Jan. 8 he’s expecting the House to have an ad hoc committee specifically examining Florida’s election model. The bill will get a hearing in the Federalism, Military Affairs and Elections Committee, but he said because of the complexity of the issue, he wants to work the bill out in multiple hearings with the ad hoc committee.
“A committee is supposed to do substantiative work on a bill,” Kolodin said. “Improve the bill and then present it on the House floor as something pretty close to a finished work product that the members can have confidence it’s been properly vetted and thoroughly thought through.”
SB1011 will likely be a major negotiating piece between Republican leaders and the Governor’s Office during the legislative session. Another Republican idea that Hobbs won’t consider is banning vote centers.
Rep. Rachel Keshel, R-Tucson, prefiled HB2017, which would prohibit a county board of supervisors from authorizing the use of voting centers. Voting would be done at the precinct level with no more than 1,000 registered voters per precinct.
Keshel had a similar bill last year, but it died in the Senate because then-Sen. Ken Bennett, R-Prescott, voted against the measure.
Bennett isn’t returning this session and Republicans have gained a seat in the Senate. Hobbs will most likely veto the bill if it makes it to her desk, but Keshel has a similar measure in the form of a concurrent resolution, HCR2002, which bypasses the governor and goes to the ballot, allowing voters to decide if the measure should become law.
Cole said he doesn’t expect voters to support the measure if it makes it to the ballot.
“Generally, the public wants easy access to voting,” Cole said. “Especially here in Maricopa County, voting centers have proven to be very popular and effective.”
Cronkite News reported in November that the county had 246 vote centers during the general election, and wait times at vote centers were on average 10 minutes to 11 minutes.The post Republicans to strive for speedy election system like Florida first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.]]>
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Battle for Senate majority escalates as Democrats spend $25 million to reach voters in 10 states
/news/2024/09/16/battle-for-senate-majority-escalates-as-democrats-spend-25-million-to-reach-voters-in-10-states/
Mon, 16 Sep 2024 19:10:37 +0000
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ATLANTA (AP) — Trying to defend their narrow Senate majority with a challenging slate of contests on Republican-leaning turf, Democrats are pumping $25 million into expanded voter outreach across 10 […]
The post Battle for Senate majority escalates as Democrats spend $25 million to reach voters in 10 states first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.]]>
ATLANTA (AP) — Trying to defend their narrow Senate majority with a challenging slate of contests on Republican-leaning turf, Democrats are pumping $25 million into expanded voter outreach across 10 states.
The new spending from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, first shared with The Associated Press, comes less than two months until the Nov. 5 election and as Democrats are benefiting from a fundraising surge since President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid in July and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the party standard-bearer.
“A formidable ground game makes all the difference in close races,” DSCC Chairman Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan said in a statement. “We are reaching every voter we need to win.”
The latest investment will be distributed across Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. The money will go toward efforts to defend five Democratic incumbents and open seats in Michigan, Maryland and Arizona that are currently included in Democrats’ majority, as well as efforts to unseat GOP incumbents in Florida and Texas.
Plans for the money will vary by state but will include hiring more paid field organizers and canvassers; digital organizing programs targeting specific groups of voters online; texting programs; and in-person organizing events targeting younger generations and nonwhite voters.
Democrats currently hold a 51-49 Senate advantage, a split that includes independent senators who caucus with Democrats. But of the 33 regular Senate elections this November, Democrats must defend 23 seats, counting the independents who caucus with them to make their majority. They’ve devoted few national resources to West Virginia, a Republican-leaning state where Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat-turned-independent, is retiring.
The playing field gives Democrats little margin for error. If they lose West Virginia and hold all other seats, they still would have to upset Florida Sen. Rick Scott or Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to win a majority or hope Harris wins the presidential election — an outcome that would allow her running mate, Tim Walz, to cast the tiebreaking vote for Democrats as vice president, as Harris did in a 50-50 Senate during the first two years of Biden’s administration.
The DSCC declined to disclose a state-by-state distribution of the $25 million. But it’s no secret that Democrats’ defense of the majority starts with tough reelection contests for Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Sherrod Brown of Ohio. Both are relatively popular, multiterm incumbents, but they’re running in states where Donald Trump, the former president and current Republican nominee, has twice won by comfortable margins. That means Tester and Brown would need a considerable number of voters to split their tickets between Trump and their Senate choice.
Senate Democrats already have financed field offices in Montana and Ohio, since those are not presidential battleground states where the Harris campaign leads Democrats’ coordinated campaign operations. And even with the money coming from national coffers, the additional on-the-ground spending will reinforce the two Democratic senators’ strategies of distancing themselves from Harris and the national party.
Five of the 10 states getting money, meanwhile, overlap with the presidential battleground map: Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Biden won all of them four years ago, while Trump won all except Nevada in 2016. Both presidential campaigns see the states as tossups this fall.
The voter outreach spending comes alongside an ongoing $79 million advertising effort by Democrats’ Senate campaign arm and builds on staffing and infrastructure investments that the national party arm already has made.
The outlay comes after Harris, who has raised more than $500 million since taking over the Democratic presidential ticket in July, announced plans to distribute $25 million to party committees that focus on down-ballot races. Senate and House Democrats’ respective campaigns each got $10 million of that money, an acknowledgment that Democratic majorities on Capitol Hill would make a Harris presidency more successful and that Harris and down-ballot Democrats can help each other at the ballot box.
Democratic aides said the on-the-ground spending was always in the Senate committee’s plans, but Harris’ bounty certainly expands options for all party-affiliated campaign groups. Democrats believe they have a superior campaign infrastructure to Trump and the rest of the GOP in a campaign year where the White House and control of Capitol Hill could be decided by marginal turnout changes among the parties’ core supporters and a narrow band of persuadable voters.
Still, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has outraised and outspent Senate Democrats this cycle, though Democrats had more cash on hand at the end of July, the last reporting period disclosed to the Federal Election Committee.
Through July 31, the NRSC had raised $181.3 million and spent $138.5 million. Republicans reported a balance of $51 million. Democrats had raised $154 million and spent $103.3 million. They reported a balance of $59.3 million.The post Battle for Senate majority escalates as Democrats spend $25 million to reach voters in 10 states first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.]]>
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Study says US is ill-prepared to ensure housing for growing number of older people
/news/2023/11/30/study-says-us-is-ill-prepared-to-ensure-housing-for-growing-number-of-older-people/
Thu, 30 Nov 2023 16:27:07 +0000
The post Study says US is ill-prepared to ensure housing for growing number of older people first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.]]>
PHOENIX (AP) — Michael Genaldi’s road to homelessness began early this year when a car slammed into the rear of his motorcycle, crushed three of his ribs, and left him...
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Derek Chauvin’s family has received no updates after Tucson prison stabbing, attorney says
/news/2023/11/27/derek-chauvins-family-has-received-no-updates-after-tucson-prison-stabbing-attorney-says/
Mon, 27 Nov 2023 18:13:19 +0000
An attorney for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, said Saturday that Chauvin's family has been kept in the dark by federal prison officials after he was stabbed in a Tucson prison.
The post Derek Chauvin’s family has received no updates after Tucson prison stabbing, attorney says first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.]]>
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An attorney for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, said Saturday that Chauvin’s family has been kept in the dark by...
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The post Derek Chauvin’s family has received no updates after Tucson prison stabbing, attorney says first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.]]>
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Classes on celebrities like Taylor Swift and Rick Ross engaging new generation of law students
/news/2023/11/13/classes-on-celebrities-like-taylor-swift-and-rick-ross-engaging-new-generation-of-law-students/
Mon, 13 Nov 2023 17:36:55 +0000
A South Dakota law professor typically teaches about dense topics like torts and natural resources. But next semester, he and his fearless students are shaking things up by turning their attention to Taylor Swift, as is also happening at Arizona State University.
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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A South Dakota law professor typically teaches about dense topics like torts and natural resources. But next semester, he and his fearless students are shaking...
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The post Classes on celebrities like Taylor Swift and Rick Ross engaging new generation of law students first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.]]>
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‘My heart was always just with the sheep.’ One Navajo’s push to keep tradition vibrant
/news/2023/11/01/my-heart-was-always-just-with-the-sheep-one-navajos-push-to-keep-tradition-vibrant/
Wed, 01 Nov 2023 22:31:21 +0000
Growing up in Ganado, a small town in Navajo Nation in eastern Arizona, Nikyle Begay always wanted to visit their grandmother's sheep.
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GANADO, Ariz. (AP) — Growing up in Ganado, a small town in Navajo Nation in eastern Arizona, Nikyle Begay always wanted to visit their grandmother’s sheep. Begay’s parents had grown...
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Fewer Californians are moving to Texas, but more are going to Arizona and Florida
/news/2023/10/19/fewer-californians-are-moving-to-texas-but-more-are-going-to-arizona-and-florida/
Thu, 19 Oct 2023 17:34:41 +0000
The number of former Californians who became Texans dropped slightly last year, but some of that slack was picked up by Arizona and Florida, which saw their tallies of ex-Californians grow, according to new state-to-state migration figures released Thursday.
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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The number of former Californians who became Texans dropped slightly last year, but some of that slack was picked up by Arizona and Florida, which saw...
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Cochise County elections leader who promoted voter fraud conspiracies resigns
/news/2023/09/20/cochise-county-elections-leader-who-promoted-voter-fraud-conspiracies-resigns/
Wed, 20 Sep 2023 16:33:55 +0000
The elections director of a rural Arizona county who pushed false claims that voter fraud was behind President Donald Trump's 2020 election loss is resigning five months after being hired.
The post Cochise County elections leader who promoted voter fraud conspiracies resigns first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.]]>
BISBEE, Ariz. (AP) — The elections director of a rural Arizona county who pushed false claims that voter fraud was behind President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss is resigning five...
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