As the DLCC kicks off the ‘Summer of the States‘, a major focus will be flipping both chambers of the Arizona legislature in November
WASHINGTON — The Arizona legislative session ended,, and instead of addressing real challenges facing Arizonans, GOP majorities marked the session by veering into far-right extremism. From wasting precious time to rectify the egregious 1864 abortion ban and blocking contraception access to threatening to legalize murder against migrants and attacking democracy itself, Republican majorities exemplified the dangers of their majority power.
The priorities of Arizona Republicans are dangerous and wildly out of step with the needs of their communities, which is why the stakes of the legislative elections in November couldn’t be higher. Democrats only need to gain two seats in each chamber to flip control of the legislature, block egregious attacks on fundamental freedoms and help Gov. Hobbs deliver on progress that Arizonans deserve.
Some of the most extreme GOP priorities from the 2024 legislative session include:
- Waiting nearly a month to fix the dangerous 1864 abortion ban and still maintaining an unpopular 15-week abortion ban: After Arizona’s state supreme court reinstated the near-total abortion ban, Republicans upheld the ban for weeks until finally caving to national backlash and pressure from state Democrats. However, an unpopular 15-week abortion ban is still on the books and Republicans were even scheming to introduce an anti-abortion ballot measure proposal to confuse and mislead voters in November, in a blatant attempt to undermine the Arizona for Abortion Access ballot measure.
- Blocking access to contraception: In March, every Arizona Republican in both the Senate and House blocked the Right to Contraception Act, displaying dangerous unity in their mission to deny Arizonans protections for birth control access. Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli went as far as saying, “Like I said, Bayer Company invented aspirin. Put it between your knees.” This obstruction came even in light of Sen. Eva Burch’s courageous speech on the Senate floor, in which she shared her abortion story and highlighted the unnecessary burdens Arizona Republicans have placed on reproductive care that put women in danger.
- Effectively legalizing the murder of migrants: In February, Arizona GOP lawmakers advanced a bill that would have allowed people to legally shoot and kill undocumented migrants, or anybody, who crosses their land. Fortunately, the bill was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.
- Putting an anti-immigrant proposal on the 2024 ballot: Arizona Republicans approved a controversial Texas SB 4 copycat proposal to appear on the 2024 ballot, bypassing the governor, who vetoed a similar proposal this year. The measure allows local law enforcement to arrest people they suspect are undocumented immigrants, opening the door to racial profiling and discrimination, and allows state judges to issue orders of deportation, encroaching on federal immigration authority.
- Upending the popular vote of presidential elections: Arizona Republicans introduced an extreme bill that would have empowered the state legislature to override the popular vote in a presidential election and appoint presidential electors of their choice. The bill was introduced by the notoriously anti-democratic GOP Sen. Anthony Kern, who proudly attended the January 6th insurrection on the U.S. Capitol and served as a fake elector for Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
- Undermining voting access: In yet another anti-democratic push, Republicans in the Arizona House passed bills to end no-excuse absentee voting – even though almost 90% of ballots cast by Arizonans in 2020 were mail-in ballots, and in 2022, 75 percent of voters signed up to receive early ballots. House GOP lawmakers also passed a bill along party lines to ban voting centers, along with on-site early voting locations.
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams issued the following statement:
“As the Arizona legislative session draws to a close, it’s crystal clear that Arizona Republicans are out of step and too extreme to represent Arizona communities across the state. Instead of delivering common sense solutions to lower costs and protect fundamental freedoms, time and time again, Arizona Republicans prioritized their MAGA agenda to attack reproductive care, upend democracy, and demonize vulnerable communities. The MAGA Arizona GOP is a hotbed of dangerous extremism, and the stakes for November’s legislative session couldn’t be more crystal clear. Only Democrats in the state legislature are committed to safeguarding reproductive rights and protecting democracy for years to come.
“Democrats are just two seats away in each chamber from flipping control of the legislature, which would fundamentally push Arizona toward a brighter future. The DLCC is committed to electing champions of fundamental freedoms and ensuring Arizonans have real leadership in the state legislature.”
The DLCC is the official arm of the Democratic Party with the sole mission of building Democratic power in the states and setting the national agenda at the state level. Over the last decade, we have fought cycle-over-cycle to gain a dozen new legislative chamber majorities and we are leading the effort to bring national attention and investment to our ballot level. State legislatures are the building blocks of our democracy and have the closest connections to Americans’ day-to-day lives. From protecting fundamental freedoms and voting rights to growing the middle class, the DLCC and state legislators are moving the Democratic agenda forward and shaping the future of this country.
###
