By Camaron Stevenson | Copper Courier
Arizona voters will find over a dozen measures on the ballot this November, covering topics ranging from lifetime appointments for judges to tax refunds for property owners.
The state legislature referred 11 measures to the 2024 ballot, the most lawmakers have put before voters since 1984. The increase is partially an attempt by the Republican-controlled legislature to circumvent Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ veto and avoid compromising with Democrats to pass bills that the governor would sign into law.
Two citizen initiatives also qualified to be on the ballot this year: the Arizona for Abortion Access Act and the Make Elections Fair Act.
The guide below divides the propositions into two sections: constitutional amendments and state statutes. Amendments to the constitution are more difficult to change, while statutes deal more with the day-to-day laws that govern residents’ lives.
Descriptions have also been split into a shorter explanation—too long, didn’t read (TL;DR) and a longer overview of what the proposition would do. Others can read the official ballot language on the Arizona Secretary of State’s website.
Are you ready to vote? Make sure to check your voter registration status, see who’s on your ballot, and make a voting plan here.
Constitutional Amendments
Proposition 133: Political parties nominate candidates
Legislative referral, previously HCR 2033
TL;DR: Makes partisan primaries a requirement—basically a ban on ranked-choice voting—and lets parties nominate candidates instead of candidates collecting signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Overview: Elections run in phases, and this proposal would alter how partisan elections run their primary phase. This change would require all recognized political parties to hold a primary election for every partisan position—nearly every race besides seats on city councils and school boards.
The amendment would grant political parties the authority to put one candidate on the ballot for every qualifying race, meaning candidates wouldn’t need petition signatures from voters, only the blessing of party leaders. The move would shift significant power away from the general public—particularly independents, which make up one-third of Arizonans—in favor of political parties.
It would also give an outsized voice, and potentially undue burden, to smaller parties recognized by the state. The Libertarian, Green, and No Labels parties—less than 2% of voters collectively—would be required to nominate candidates for every partisan race, from US President to precinct constables. Independent voters, on the other hand, would have no saved spot for them on the ballot, as there is no recognized Independent Party in Arizona.
Proposition 134: District requirements for citizen initiatives
Legislative referral, previously SCFR 1015
TL;DR: This is a geographic barrier to citizen initiatives. Instead of simply getting a certain number of petition signatures, initiatives would be required to collect a percentage of signatures in 30 different parts of the state.
Overview: This would change the requirements for citizen initiatives. In order to qualify for the ballot under this law, initiatives would need to collect signatures from 10% of qualified voters in each legislative district—15% if the proposal requires a constitutional amendment.
Current law requires citizens to collect the same percentages of signatures, but for the overall population of the state, not individual districts. The difference is akin to the popular vote versus the Electoral College for the US presidential election; one favors the majority, while the other tips the scales in favor of rural voters. The likely end result would be that progressive measures would have a far more difficult time getting to a vote of the people than conservative ones.
