Conservatives Fear Arizona House Committee Shakeup Could Stymie Election Integrity Bills

Arizona conservatives had much to celebrate after the dust finally settled on the 2024 election. Not only did voters deliver the Grand Canyon State’s 11 electoral votes to Donald Trump, but they also helped Republicans expand their slim legislative majorities, thus preventing Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs and Arizona leftists from transforming the state into “California 2.0.”

Numerous policy issues are expected to be tackled during next year’s legislative session. It’s fixing the state’s broken elections system, however, that seems to be top of mind for many Republicans.

Last week, state and local GOP leaders held a call with Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd to discuss ways Arizona can improve its ballot tabulation process and deliver timely results like the Sunshine State. Delayed production of election results has become a feature of Arizona elections in recent years. The state certified the results of its 2024 presidential election on Monday — almost three weeks after the Nov. 5 contest.

While supportive of attempts to adopt “Florida-style” elections, some Arizona conservatives who spoke with The Federalist expressed concern that a shakeup of the House of Representatives’ elections committee could hinder efforts to pass legislation integral to improving the state’s electoral system.

The list of House committees published last week by Speaker-elect Steve Montenegro revealed that the Municipal Oversight & Elections Committee is no more, with election-related matters now shoehorned into a committee alongside military affairs and federalism issues. State GOP Rep. Rachel Jones told The Federalist she’s worried that including the complex subject of elections into a committee with other important policy matters may jeopardize lawmakers and citizens’ ability to thoroughly screen bills coming through the body. (Read more from “Conservatives Fear Arizona House Committee Shakeup Could Stymie Election Integrity Bills” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr