Arizona Expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Referendum (2024)
| Arizona Expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Referendum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Charter schools and vouchers | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Referendum | Origin Citizens |
The Arizona Expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Referendum was not on the ballot in Arizona as a veto referendum on November 5, 2024.
This measure was designed to repeal sections 1, 2, and 3 of the 2022 Laws, Chapter 388 (House Bill 2853), which expands eligibility for empowerment scholarship accounts by changing the definition of qualified student to include all students eligible to enroll in an Arizona public school for kindergarten, grades one through twelve, or a preschool program for children with disabilities.
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the ballot measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
Stages of this veto referendum
- On July 8, 2022, the Save Our Schools Arizona PAC submitted the application for the veto referendum.
- On September 23, 2022, the Save Our Schools PAC submitted 141,714 signatures.[1] In Arizona, signature requirements are based on the total number of votes cast for the governor in the preceding election. At least 356,467 valid signatures (equal to 15 percent of the votes cast for the governor) were required for initiated constitutional amendments in 2022. At least 237,645 valid signatures (equal to 10 percent of the votes cast for the governor) were required for initiated state statutes, and at least 118,823 valid signatures (equal to 5 percent of the votes cast for the governor) are required for veto referendums.
- On September 26, 2022, the Secretary of State's office said it received 8,175 petition sheets. According to KTAR News, "nearly all would have to be filled with valid signatures to reach the required threshold, a highly improbable scenario." The Goldwater Institute did a hand count and found that 88,866 signatures were submitted. Save Our Schools Arizona said they “will await accurate numbers” from the Secretary of State’s office regarding their challenge to the law.[2][3]
- On September 30, 2022, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs announced that the petitions submitted by the Save Our Schools PAC failed to meet the required signature threshold to advance to the ballot. She announced that the signatures would not be sampled because they failed to meet the constitutional minimum.[4]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Tucson.com, "Foes submit 141K signatures to fight Arizona school vouchers," Sep 23, 2022
- ↑ KTAR "Arizona GOP leaders push Hobbs to reject referendum blocking school voucher expansion," Sep 28, 2022
- ↑ 12 News "Foes of Arizona voucher expansion likely fail to make ballot," Sep 26, 2022
- ↑ KTAR News "Arizona school voucher opponents fall short in bid to block expansion," Sep 30, 2022
 |
State of Arizona Phoenix (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
