Arizona voters will decide a wide-ranging election overhaul in November after the state Supreme Court rejected a challenge arguing Republican lawmakers improperly bundled multiple constitutional changes into one ballot question.
The 4-2 decision, reported by PinalCentral, affirmed a lower-court ruling that Proposition 144 complies with Arizona’s Separate Amendment Rule. Justice Clint Bolick was recused. Tempe City Councilman Randy Keating argued voters should be allowed to consider its provisions separately rather than accept or reject the entire package.
Vice Chief Justice John Lopez wrote in the court’s decision order that the six provisions are sufficiently connected because each regulates “the conduct of public elections.” The majority said they share the goal of ensuring Arizona elections are decided by eligible citizens and that valid votes are accurately counted.
Proposition 144 would require government-issued identification before casting any ballot, including by mail; prohibit foreign nationals from spending to influence Arizona elections; and write into the Arizona Constitution that only citizens may register and vote. It would require an Election Day option for voters to have ballots tabulated at their voting location and authorize election laws rationally connected to interests such as timely results, security and public confidence. Republican state Rep. Alexander Kolodin sponsored the legislative referral. The amendment would apply beginning Jan. 1, 2028.
Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer and Justice Maria Elena Cruz dissented. They argued the on-site tabulation provision and the expanded authority to enact election laws were not sufficiently related to the rest of the measure and should be presented separately.
A second ruling Wednesday cleared another obstacle. The court rejected a challenge to Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ official ballot description, finding the plaintiffs lacked standing and that the language was not false or clearly misleading.
Arizona voters will decide Proposition 144 in the Nov. 3 general election.
