Arizona Proposition 305, Expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Referendum (2018)

Elections in Arizona, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9
• Early voting: Oct. 10 - Nov. 2
• Absentee voting deadline: Postmark Nov. 6

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No
• Voter ID: Non-photo ID
• Poll times: 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

---

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Arizona Proposition 305
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic Charter schools and vouchers
Status d Defeated
Type Referendum	Origin Citizens
List of Arizona measuresArizona Proposition 125Arizona Proposition 127Arizona Proposition 305Arizona Proposition 306Submit

Arizona Proposition 305, the Expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Referendum, was on the ballot in Arizona as a veto referendum on November 6, 2018. The measure was defeated, thus repealing the targeted law.

A "yes" vote was to uphold the contested legislation, Senate Bill 1431, which would phase in an expansion of the state's Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) program to make all public school students eligible to apply for an ESA.

A "no" vote was to repeal the contested legislation, Senate Bill 1431, which would phase in an expansion of the state's ESAs program to make all public school students eligible to apply for an ESA.

Election results

Arizona Proposition 305
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		790,608	35.17%
No		1,457,070	64.83%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

As of 2018, what was an ESA?

The original ESA program allowed parents or guardians of students with disabilities to sign a contract to opt out of the public school system and instead receive an ESA from the Arizona Department of Education (DOE) that could be spent on private education, homeschooling, or other non-public education. In Arizona, an ESA was funded at 90 percent of what the state would have paid for the student in a district or charter school. As of 2018, parents or guardians used a prepaid bank card to pay for education-related tuition and fees, textbooks, tutoring, educational therapies, and curriculum. Recipients of ESAs were required to submit quarterly spending reports to DOE. Between 2011 and 2017, the program was expanded to cover students meeting other specified criteria. Arizona was the first state to establish an Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program.

How would Proposition 305 have changed the ESAs program?

A "yes" vote on Proposition 305 would have upheld Senate Bill 1431 (SB 1431), which was designed to make all K-12 students eligible to apply for an ESA. The expansion would have phased in over four school years. A "no" vote on Proposition 305 overturned SB 1431. Approval of Proposition 305 would have phased in the expansion of ESAs, according to the law, as follows:

• For 2017-2018, students in kindergarten or grades 1, 6, and 9 would have been eligible for ESAs.
• For 2018-2019, students in kindergarten or grades 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, and 10 would have been eligible.
• For 2019-2020, students in kindergarten or grades 1 through 3 and 6 through 11 would have been eligible.
• For 2020-2021, all K-12 students would have been eligible.

Proposition 305 would have capped the number of new students allowed to receive ESAs at 0.5 percent of the total number of students enrolled in school districts and charter schools per year through school year 2022-2023. For school year 2023-2024 and thereafter, the number of new ESAs per year would not have exceeded the number approved for school year 2022-2023. A student whose family is at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty line would have been eligible for an ESA with 100 percent, rather than 90 percent, of what the state would have paid for the student in a district or charter school.

Are Arizona's ESAs the same as vouchers?

Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Accounts are often referred to as a school vouchers program. In 2013, the state Court of Appeals outlined the differences between ESAs, which were upheld as constitutional, and school vouchers, which the state Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional four years earlier, in Arizona. In Niehaus V. Huppenthal, the Court of Appeals said that vouchers earmarked state funds for private and sectarian schools, whereas ESAs earmarked state funds for parents of qualifying students to purchase educational services. Vouchers, according to the court, violated Section 10 of Article 9 (Aid Clause) of the Arizona Constitution, which prohibited state aid to private and religious schools. The court said ESAs do not violate the Aid Clause because "none of the ESA funds are preordained for a particular destination."

Kim Martinez of the American Federation for Children, an organization that advocates for school choice policies, said the difference between vouchers and ESAs is notable, as "ESAs are much more comprehensive than a voucher program and they allow parents to control their child’s state-funded education dollars." Tim Walker of the National Education Association, a teachers' professional association and labor union, referred to ESAs as school voucher doublespeak, stating, "The intent is to obscure the fact that these spruced up proposals still produce the same result: less taxpayer money for public schools, more taxpayer money for unaccountable private schools that can, and do, discriminate."

How did Proposition 305 get on the ballot in 2018?

Save Our Schools (SOS) Arizona, the campaign the collected signatures for the veto referendum, was launched one month after Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed Senate Bill 1431 (SB 1431) on April 6, 2017. In the Arizona State Legislature, Democrats opposed SB 1431. Most legislative Republicans supported the legislation. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos (R) described the bill was a big win for students and parents. According to Dawn Penich-Thacker, SOS Arizona's spokesperson, six women who met at legislative hearings for SB 1431 and were opposed to the legislation organized the veto referendum campaign. On September 8, 2017, Secretary of State Michele Reagan (R) announced that enough signatures were verified to place the veto referendum on the ballot as Proposition 305. Gov. Ducey, speaking at a seminar, said he wanted SB 1431 to go into effect. He stated, "This is a very real fight in my state. I didn’t run for governor to play small ball. I think this is an important idea."

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Amending Sections 15-2401, 15-2402, 15-2403 and 42-2003, Arizona Revised Statutes; Amending Laws 2013, Chapter 250, Section 3; Relating to Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. The law would expand eligibility for education Empowerment Scholarship Accounts to increase the number of eligible students enrolled in kindergarten through twelfth grade, with greater funding provided for low-income students.

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary was as follows:

“

A “YES” vote would allow Senate Bill 1431 (2017) to go into effect, which would gradually increase for four years the percentage of students in kindergarten through twelfth grade eligible to receive an empowerment scholarship account to spend on tuition, textbooks, educational therapies, tutoring, or other qualified forms of instructional assistance at a private or home-based school in an amount equal to 90% of the allotted funding that otherwise would have been allocated to the student’s public school district or charter school (for low-income students, the amount would be equal to 100% of the allotted funding); make changes to the existing empowerment scholarship program by requiring a policy handbook to be published for program applicants and participants, clarifying parental rights to appeal Department of Education eligibility decisions, and placing scholarship spending information on the Department’s website; and control the growth of the scholarship program by limiting new scholarship accounts each year through 2022 and eventually capping the number of new scholarship accounts at 2021-2022 fiscal year levels. A “NO” vote will preserve the existing law regarding empowerment scholarship accounts.

”

Full text

The full text of Senate Bill 1431 is available here.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2018

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The attorney general wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 20, and the FRE is 6. The word count for the ballot title is 31, and the estimated reading time is 8 seconds. The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 40, and the FRE is -37. The word count for the ballot summary is 175, and the estimated reading time is 46 seconds. In 2018, for the 167 statewide measures on the ballot, the average ballot title or question was written at a level appropriate for those with between 19 and 20 years of U.S. formal education (graduate school-level of education), according to the FKGL formula. Read Ballotpedia's entire 2018 ballot language readability report here.

Support for Yes vote

YesForEdAZ, also known as Yes on Prop 305, led the campaign for a "yes" vote (uphold the law) on Proposition 305.

Supporters

Officials

• Gov. Doug Ducey (R)

Organizations

• Arizona School Tuition Organization Association
• Bishops of the Arizona Catholic Conference
• Center for Arizona Policy Action
• Goldwater Institute

Arguments

• The Bishops of the Arizona Catholic Conference said, "Arizona’s children are perhaps our most important natural resource. It is, therefore, appropriate that families and communities make tremendous sacrifices so that our children are able to achieve their maximum potential. We all want our children to succeed and agree that providing a quality education is absolutely essential. Toward this end, it is important to recognize that kids are different and that what works best for one child may not work well for another. Parents are charged with a tremendous responsibility as the primary educators of their children. This responsibility includes the tough decision of where to educate their children, including the possibility of homeschooling. Ultimately, it is parents who best understand their children’s needs and where they are most likely to succeed."
• U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-8), who was the lead sponsor of SB 1431 in the Arizona State Legislature, responded to the referendum campaign, saying, "It’s misleading and disingenuous to say you’re stealing money from public schools to give to private schools. When critics say this is somehow going to destroy public education as we know it, I think it’s a ridiculous, over-the-top allegation. It’s utterly ridiculous. These people must think district schools are so terrible, all these parents are going to flock to district schools and pull their kids out of district schools and sign up for ESAs, while most public school parents are happy."
• Rep. John Allen (R-15), the state House majority leader, stated, "The opposition [to SB 1431] is called 'Save Our Schools.' It's not 'Educate Our Kids.' This is about the status quo educational system versus the things we're going to have to do in the future to get quality education."

Support for No vote

Save Our Schools Arizona (SOS Arizona), also known as Vote No on Prop 305, led the campaign for a "no" vote (repeal the law) on Proposition 305. SOS Arizona led the signature drive to place the veto referendum on the ballot. The group stated the following about the referendum campaign:

“

We support school choice, but we do not support the expansion of ESAs, commonly known as vouchers, that take even more money away from public education when our schools are already in crisis. We share the belief that strong schools for all our kids will create a strong state and a more prosperous Arizona. We will put SB1431 voucher expansion on the ballot, and it will be the first step toward restoring the Arizona educational system.

”

Opponents

Officials

• David Garcia (D), 2018 gubernatorial candidate
• Angel Torres (Green), 2018 gubernatorial candidate

Organizations

• Arizona PTA
• Greater Phoenix Leadership
• League of Women Voters of Arizona
• Secular Coalition for Arizona
• Southern Arizona Leadership Council
• Stand for Children

Arguments

SOS Arizona, the campaign to repeal SB 1431, issued a one-page document with the following statements against the bill:

“

Strong Schools = Safe Neighborhoods: Quality, well funded schools help protect property values and reduce crime. We need to invest in public education to protect our quality of life. Strong Schools = Strong Workforce. We need to support our schools’ efforts to educate our children and develop a quality, competitive workforce to insure our state’s long-term success. An “under-educated workforce” is consistently cited as the #1 reason businesses avoid Arizona. Strong Schools = Good jobs and Economic Opportunities. We need highly skilled and trained workers to attract jobs and economic opportunities to Arizona so that our state can compete in the industries of today and tomorrow. Businesses look for community support, quality of life, and education opportunities for their employees’ families. Better Funding = Better Results. Vouchers take money out of our already-underfunded public school system. 90% of children are in public schools in Arizona, yet we rank 48th for how we fund public schools. Despite starving the schools and teachers that educate the vast majority of our students, Arizona has some of the best public schools in the nation. Arizona ranks dead last in the nation for teacher pay. We are in an unprecedented teacher shortage with more than 2,200 classrooms without a permanent teacher. More Handouts = Less Accountability. This expansion bill requires almost no reporting from voucher recipients, whether they’re for-profit schools or individual families, on where the money goes, how it’s spent, or what educational outcomes are.

”

Positions of candidates

Gubernatorial candidates, 2018

See also: Arizona gubernatorial election, 2018

On November 6, 2018, voters in Arizona selected a candidate for governor. Gov. Doug Ducey (R) was seeking a second-term in office. His challengers include David Garcia (D) and Angel Torres (Green). Gov. Ducey signed the legislation that Proposition 305 was filed to overturn. A "yes" vote on Proposition 305 would upload the expansion legislation. Both Garcia and Torres opposed the ESAs expansion legislation and advocated for a "no" vote on Proposition 305 to overturn the expansion legislation.

• Doug Ducey (R): "I support the move to expand [ESAs]. ,,, By the law that I signed—5,000 kids per year for the next six years. We have 1.1 million children in the state of Arizona. I want them all to have access to an affordable, accessible, and excellent education. Kathy, who has a son with a special situation, and the young man who is blind and this has helped him buy braille books. But there are some kids who don’t fall into these populations."
• David Garcia (D): "The [ESAs] work just like vouchers. They take money out of public schools and put them into private schools. And, in this case, we are 50th in the country in funding, and we’re going to take this seriously. We need to fund public schools first and foremost. If [Gov. Ducey’s] concern is with disabilities, then why not keep it there. But, instead, the intent is a universal voucher program to privatize public education. And when that happens, we will have a society of haves and have-nots immediately."
• Angel Torres (Green): "As far as the expansion of the voucher system—the ESAs—if we’re going to fully fund K-12 public education... we can’t afford to have a parallel system, like we have with the charter schools… we need to be frugal with every taxpayer dollar that we are spending and we can’t afford to be subsidizing private school education. I am all for if there are children with special needs in the program. But we can’t afford to expand it to all Arizona students."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Arizona ballot measures

There was one committee, Yes for Ed AZ, registered in support of a "yes" vote (uphold the law) on Proposition 305. The committee had raised $64,569 and spent $64,060. The top contributor was Every Child Can Learn, Inc., which provided $29,090.

There was one committee, Save Our Schools Arizona, registered in support of a "no" vote (repeal the law) on Proposition 305. The committee had raised $693,059 and spent $686,272. The top contributor to the campaign was Save Our Schools Arizona - 501(c)(4), which contributed $350,805.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$56,058.90	$8,510.01	$64,568.91	$55,549.96	$64,059.97
Oppose	$553,420.09	$139,638.62	$693,058.71	$546,632.94	$686,271.56
Total	$609,478.99	$148,148.63	$757,627.62	$602,182.90	$750,331.53

Support for a 'yes' vote

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in support of the measure.

Committees in support of Proposition 305
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
YesForEdAZ	$56,058.90	$8,510.01	$64,568.91	$55,549.96	$64,059.97
Total	$56,058.90	$8,510.01	$64,568.91	$55,549.96	$64,059.97

Donors

The following were the top donors to the committee.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
Every Child Can Learn, Inc.	$29,090.30	$0.00	$29,090.30
Center for Arizona Policy Action	$10,554.95	$5,750.00	$16,304.95
Goldwater Institute	$10,554.95	$5,750.00	$16,304.95
Arizona School Tuition Organization Association	$2,500.00	$0.00	$2,500.00
Yarbrough Senate Committee	$2,500.00	$0.00	$2,500.00

Support for a 'no' vote

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in opposition to the initiative.

Committees in opposition to Proposition 305
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Save Our Schools Arizona	$553,420.09	$139,638.62	$693,058.71	$546,632.94	$686,271.56
Total	$553,420.09	$139,638.62	$693,058.71	$546,632.94	$686,271.56

Donors

The following were the top donors to the committee.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
Save Our Schools Arizona - 501(c)(4)	$300,774.00	$50,031.27	$350,805.27
Stand for Children, Inc.	$0.00	$93,350.42	$93,350.42
The Friends of ASBA (AZ School Boards Association), Inc.	$14,500.00	$0.00	$14,500.00
Doug Guilbeau	$10,000.00	$0.00	$10,000.00
Sophie Etchart	$4,540.00	$0.00	$4,540.00

Reporting dates

In Arizona, ballot measure committees filed a total of six campaign finance reports in 2018. The filing dates for reports were as follows:

Campaign finance reporting dates for 2018 ballot
Date	Report	Period
1/15/2018	Final 2017 Report	10/01/2017 - 12/31/2017
4/16/2018	Report #1	1/01/2018 - 3/31/2018
7/16/2018	Report #2	4/01/2018 - 6/30/2018
8/20/2018	Report #3	7/01/2018 - 8/11/2018
10/15/2018	Report #4	8/12/2018 - 9/30/2018
10/29/2018	Report #4	10/01/2018 - 10/20/2018
1/15/2019	Final 2018 Report	10/21/2018 - 12/31/2018

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Polls

See also: 2018 ballot measure polls

Arizona Proposition 305, Expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Referendum
Poll	Support	Oppose	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Suffolk University 9/27/2018 - 9/30/2018	41.2%	31.8%	27.0%	+/-4.4	500
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Senate Bill 1431 (2017) timeline

Senate Bill 1431 (SB 1431) was introduced into the Arizona State Legislature during the 2017 legislative session. Sen. Debbie Lesko (R-21) was the bill's primary sponsor. On January 31, 2017, SB 1431 was first sent to the Senate Education Committee, where members recommended passing the bill in a four to three vote. In 2017, the Senate Education Committee was a seven-member committee composed of five Republicans and two Democrats. Senators Sylvia Allen (R-6), Steve Montenegro (R-13), Steve Smith (R-11), and Kimberly Yee (R-20) voted to recommend the bill's passage. Senators David Bradley (D-10), Catherine Miranda (D-27), and Kate Brophy McGee (R-28) voted against recommending the bill's passage.

The Arizona Senate took up SB 1431 on April 6, 2017. The upper chamber passed the bill, 16 to 13 with one member not voting. The Senate Democratic Caucus opposed the bill, with 12 senators voting against SB 1431 and one senator not voting. All but one member of the Senate Republican Caucus supported the bill. Sen. Kate Brophy McGee (R-28) was the sole Republican to vote against SB 1431.

Breakdown of Senate votes on SB 1431
Party Affiliation	Yes	No	Abstain	Total
Democrat	0	12	1	13
Republican	16	1	0	17
Total	16	13	1	30

The Arizona House of Representatives received SB 1431 from the Senate on April 6, 2017, and voted on the bill the same day. The vote count was 31 to 28 with one member not voting. As in the Senate, the lower chamber's Democrats voted against the bill. Of the House's 35 Republicans, 31 voted to pass the bill. The four Republicans who voted against the bill were Heather Carter (R-15), Todd Clodfelter (R-10), Doug Coleman (R-16), and Michelle Udall (R-25).

Breakdown of House votes on SB 1431
Party Affiliation	Yes	No	Abstain	Total
Democrat	0	24	1	25
Republican	31	4	0	35
Total	31	28	1	50

Gov. Doug Ducey (R) received SB 1431 on April 6, 2017, and signed the bill into law. The governor said:

“

Through Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, thousands of Arizona students have benefited from an education that’s customized to their unique needs and circumstances. Today, we lead the nation again with a bill that’s fiscally responsible, improves accountability and transparency, and prioritizes low-income students and families. When parents have options, kids win.

”

SB 1431 garnered the attention of some national political figures. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said the bill was a big win for students and parents. Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, presidential candidate in 2016, and chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, described the bill as a historic moment for Arizona.

ESA-like programs in other states

The Arizona Empowerment Scholarships Accounts (ESAs) program is a type of education savings account program. Like the Arizona ESAs, education savings accounts are programs that authorize parents to withdraw their children from public schools and receive public funds to cover non-public education. The amount of the public funds received and what the funds can be used on varies based on the state program. According to EdChoice, an organization that advocates for school choice policies, six states had adopted education savings account programs. In Nevada, however, the program was inactive. The following is a list of state that had adopted education savings accounts programs:

Education savings account programs by state
State	Program	Average amount, 2017	Number of students, 2017
Arizona (in effect)	Empowerment Scholarship Accounts	$11,614	5,091
Florida (in effect)	Gardiner Scholarship Program	$10,312	10,153
Mississippi (in effect)	Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Program	$6,500	153
North Carolina (effective 2018-2019 school year)	Personal Education Savings Accounts	N/A	N/A
Nevada (unfunded and inactive)	Education Savings Accounts	N/A	N/A
Tennessee (in effect)	Individualized Education Account Program	$5,092	87

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Arizona

In Arizona, the number of signatures required for a veto referendum to be certified for the ballot is equivalent to 5 percent of the votes cast for governor at the last gubernatorial election. For 2018 veto referendums, the number of valid signatures required was 75,321. Proponents of the referendum had until 90 days after the 2017 legislative session adjourned to collect signatures. As the 2017 legislative session adjourned on May 10, 2017, petitioners had until August 8, 2017, to collect 75,321 signatures.

Senate Bill 1431 (SB 1431) was not set to take effect until 90 days after the state legislature adjourned in 2017. As 75,321 or more signatures were verified, the enforcement of SB 1431 was put on hold until voters addressed the bill in 2018.

SOS Arizona announced the referendum campaign on May 8, 2017. A petition for the referendum was filed with the secretary of state's office on May 11, 2017.

On August 8, 2017, SOS Arizona reported submitting 111,540 signatures to the secretary of state's office. This means that about 67.5 percent of the total submitted signatures needed to be valid.

Eric Spencer, the State Election Director for the Secretary of State, gave an initial approval to 108,224 signatures (97 percent of the total). He said referendum proponents "should be pretty confident that at least 70 percent of the people that signed this are actually registered voters." Spencer selected a random sample of signatures for a name-by-name check and sent them to the county recorder's office of each county the signatures were collected in. The recorders needed to find at least 69.6 percent of the signatures valid.

On September 5, 2017, enough of the state's counties that needed to conduct a name-by-name check finished their counts to establish whether enough signatures were collected. Around 85 percent of the signatures submitted to those counties were found valid. Secretary of State Michele Reagan (R) said, "With Maricopa results now in, it’s a mathematical guarantee for R-02-2018 to make the ballot."

Secretary of State Reagan announced that referendum proponents submitted enough signatures, certifying the measure for the ballot as Proposition 305 on September 8, 2017.

Sen. Debbie Lesko (R-21), the lead sponsor of SB 1431, said she would consider repealing SB 1431 and replacing it with a similar bill if the referendum was certified. Taking this action would have prevented the referendum from repealing the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts expansion. However, the legislative session adjourned on May 3, 2018, with no actions taken in response to the veto referendum.

Cost of signature collection:
Sponsors of the measure hired Innovative Quotient Management, LLC to collect signatures for the petition to qualify this measure for the ballot. A total of $25,050.00 was spent to collect the 75,321 valid signatures required to put this measure before voters, resulting in a total cost per required signature (CPRS) of $0.33.

Lawsuits

Lawsuits overview
First lawsuit
Issue: Signature validity; whether some signature gatherers were not legally qualified to circulate petitions
Court: Maricopa County Superior Court
Ruling: Ruled in favor of defendants, dismissing the case
Plaintiff(s): Christopher Perea and Thomas Jenney	Defendant(s): Secretary of State Michele Reagan and Save Our Schools Arizona
Plaintiff argument: 23 signature gatherers were not qualified to circulate petions.	Defendant argument: N/A
Second lawsuit
Issue: Signature validity; whether petitioners made false statements, notary's signatures were valid, and petitions included correct legislative session information
Court: Maricopa County Superior Court
Ruling: Ruled in favor of defendants, dismissing the case
Plaintiff(s): Christopher Perea and Thomas Jenney	Defendant(s): Secretary of State Michele Reagan and Save Our Schools Arizona
Plaintiff arguments: There were irregularities with the submitted petitions, including where the notary's signature did not match the notary’s official application and seal and where petitions labeled the legislative session as the “53rd session of the Legislature,” rather than the accurate “first legislative session of the 53rd Legislature.” Furthermore, signature gatherers made false statements about Senate Bill 1431’s fiscal impact on public schools.	Defendant arguments: The case should be dismissed because the plaintiffs do not have standing before the court. The law, at the time the campaign submitted signatures, did not allow individuals to challenge petitions.

  Sources: Maricopa Superior Court, Arizona Capitol Times, and Arizona Daily Star

Perea and Jenney v. Reagan and SOS Arizona I

On August 11, 2017, Christopher Perea, a teacher at Gateway Academy in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and Thomas Jenney, senior legislative advisor for Americans for Prosperity - Arizona Chapter, filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Michele Reagan (R) and Save Our Schools Arizona (SOS Arizona) in the Maricopa County Superior Court. Perea and Jenney argued that some signature gatherers were not legally qualified to circulate petitions. The plaintiffs made five claims:

1. Four signature gatherers indicated on petitions sheets that they were paid circulators; however, they did not register as paid circulators with the secretary of state's office.

2. Eight signature gatherers collected signatures before properly registered as paid circulators.

3. Two signature gatherers identified as residents of California on petition sheets but did not register with the secretary of state as such.

4. Seven signature gatherers did not provide a complete and accurate residential address, service of process address, or telephone number.

5. Two signature gatherers had felony convictions and therefore were not qualified to circulate petitions.

On September 11, 2017, Judge Connie Contes dismissed the case.

Perea and Jenney v. Reagan and SOS Arizona II

On August 23, 2017, Perea and Jenney filed a second lawsuit in the Maricopa County Superior Court. Plaintiffs said there were irregularities with the submitted petitions. Kory Langhofer, the plaintiffs' attorney, argued that there were multiple petitions where the notary's signature did not match the notary’s official application and seal. He also stated that petitions should have said Senate Bill 1431 (SB 1431) was enacted during the "first legislative session of the 53rd Legislature," not the "53rd session of the Legislature." Furthermore, Langhofer contended that some signature gatherers made false statements about the effects of Senate Bill 1431. He said, "We think if you say to a voter, ‘This measure is going to take $24 million out your public schools’ — and that’s just false, it’s not going to — and you’re inducing people to sign your petition sheets that way, that’s fraud."

Motion to Dismiss

On September 26, 2017, SOS Arizona asked the court to dismiss the case. On December 1, 2017, attorneys for the defendant, SOS Arizona, and plaintiffs, Christopher Perea and Thomas Jenney, presented arguments to Judge Mahoney on whether the case should be dismissed.

Arguments centered on House Bill 2404 (HB 2404), which was passed in March 2017 and enacted on August 9, 2017, and whether the bill applied to Proposition 305. Signatures were submitted for the veto referendum on August 8, 2017. Prior to the enactment of HB 2404, the law said that an individual could “not maintain a separate action seeking to enjoin the secretary of state or other officer from certifying the official ballot title for the election that will include the proposed initiative or referendum…” HB 2404 allowed anyone to contest petitions submitted for a referendum.

Roopali Desai, representing SOS Arizona, argued that the plaintiffs did not have standing before the court because the law, at the time signatures were submitted, did not allow individuals to challenge petitions.

Tim La Sota, representing plaintiff Perea, argued that Desai’s interpretation of the law in effect before HB 2404 was wrong. He stated, “It's no secret—the Legislature does not like initiatives or referenda, they don’t. That is the last thing in the world they would do is take away the right of a private citizens to keep them off the ballot.” He also said that HB 2404 was retroactive. Kory Langhofer, representing plaintiff Jenney, contended that the Arizona State Legislature approved Senate Bill 1431 (SB 1431), the law that was designed to expand ESAs, before HB 2404 was approved. According to Langhofer, SOS Arizona should have known that HB 2404 was going to take effect.

On January 30, 2018, Judge Mahoney dismissed the case, stating the plaintiffs did not have standing. The judge agreed with defendants that the law in place at the time did not allow individuals to challenge petitions. Attorney Tim La Sota said there would be an appeal.

The ruling to dismiss the case was appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court. On March 21, 2018, the state's high court upheld the lower court's ruling, concurring that plaintiffs did not have standing before the court.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Arizona

Poll times

In Arizona, all polling places are open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration requirements

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Arizona, one must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of an Arizona county. A voter must be 18 years or older on or before Election Day. Arizona also requires voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship to vote for state and local elections

To be eligible to vote in an election one must register at least 29 days prior to the election. Individuals can register online, in person at the county recorder's office, or by mail.

Automatic registration

Arizona does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Arizona has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Arizona does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

Arizona law requires 29 days of residency in the state before a person may vote.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Arizona requires voters to submit proof of citizenship with their voter registration application to vote in state and local elections. According to the Arizona Secretary of State's website: "A registrant who attests to being a citizen but fails to provide proof of citizenship and whose citizenship is not otherwise verified will be eligible to vote only in federal elections (known as being a 'federal only' voter)." Accepted proof of citizenship include:

• An Arizona Driver's License/Identification Number
• Indian Census Number, Bureau of Indian Affairs Card Number, Tribal Treaty Card Number, or Tribal Enrollment Number
• A photocopy of U.S. naturalization documents
• A photocopy of a birth certificate and supporting legal documentation (i.e., marriage certificate) if the name on the birth certificate is not the same as your current legal name.
• A photocopy of a U.S. passport.
• A photocopy of a Tribal Certificate of Indian Blood or Bureau of Indian Affairs Affidavit of Birth.

On August 22, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency order partially granting the Republican National Committee and Arizona Republicans' request to enforce a 2022 law related to proof of citizenship requirements. The court allowed the enforcement of the provision requiring the state to reject state voter registration forms submitted without proof of citizenship. Previously, a person who submitted a state voter registration form without proof of citizenship could still be a federal only voter. After the court's ruling, a person unable to provide proof of citizenship would need to submit a federal voter registration form in order to vote in federal elections. Read more about legal challenges to this law here.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Arizona Voter Information Portal, run by the Arizona Secretary of State's office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Arizona requires voters to present photo identification or two forms of non-photo identification while voting.

The following were accepted forms of identification as of July 2024: Click here for the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.

Voters can present one of the following forms of ID that contain the voter’s photograph, name, and address:

• Arizona driver’s license
• U.S. federal, state, or local government-issued ID, issued with printed name and address
• Arizona ID card
• Tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal ID

If a voter does not have one of the above forms of ID, the voter can present two of the following forms of ID that contain the voter’s name and address:

• Utility bill in the voter's name
• Bank or credit union statement that is dated within 90 days of the date of the election
• Valid Arizona vehicle registration
• Arizona vehicle insurance card
• Indian census card
• Property tax statement
• Recorder's certificate or voter registration card
• Tribal enrollment card or other tribal ID
• Valid U.S. federal, state, or local government-issued ID with a printed name and address or
• Any mailing in the voter's name that is labeled "official election material"  

Additionally, if a voter presents photo ID that does not list an address within the precinct in which he or she wants to cast a vote, that person may present the photo ID with one non-photo identification material from the second list above. The identification material should include the voter’s address.

See also

2018 measures

• 2018 ballot measures
• Charter schools and vouchers on the ballot

Arizona

• Arizona ballot measures
• Arizona ballot measure laws
• School choice in Arizona

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

Information

• Senate Bill 1431
• Arizona 2018 Election Voter Pamphlet

Support for "Yes" vote

• Yes for Ed AZ
• Yes for Ed AZ Facebook
• Yes for Ed AZ Twitter

Support for "No" vote

• Save Our Schools Arizona
• Save Our Schools Arizona Facebook
• Save Our Schools Arizona Twitter