Arizona state legislative Democratic primaries, 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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2018 Arizona State Legislature elections
General	November 6, 2018
Primary	August 28, 2018

2018 elections
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Educators (or persons close to the field of education) ran in 11 contested Democratic state legislative primaries on August 28, 2018 and advanced to the general election in five. Overall, Ballotpedia identified 27 educators running in 25 Democratic primaries in 2018. In 2018, there were 90 legislative seats in Arizona—30 single-member Senate seats and 30 two-member House seats—and all were up for election.

The primaries came in the aftermath of Arizona's first-ever teacher strike from April 26 to May 3, 2018. Led by Arizona Educators United, the strike focused on increasing teacher pay and funding for education. The strike ended when Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill to raise teacher pay by 20 percent and restore $371 million in school funding that was cut after the 2008 recession. Read more about the strike below.

Similar strikes in Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and West Virginia led to higher numbers of teachers seeking office. The states tended to have a higher number of incumbents defeated than usual, although the defeats were usually on the Republican side. For example, 112 educators ran for the Oklahoma State Legislature and 16 Republican incumbents either lost or were forced into runoffs on August 28. University of Oklahoma political scientist Keith Gaddie said the primary results were "a mobilization against anti-tax, anti-education lawmakers in the GOP primary."

In the May 22 Kentucky state House primaries, teacher Travis Brenda (R) defeated majority leader Jonathan Shell (R) after criticizing the Shell's support for decreasing teacher pensions.

For information about the Republicans primary elections in Arizona, click here. As of August 2018, Arizona was one of 26 Republican trifectas. A state government trifecta is a term used to describe a single-party government where one political party holds the governor's office and a majority in both chambers of the state legislature. To find out more about state government trifectas, click here.

Incumbents who did not advance to the general election

Retiring incumbents

Ten state House Democrats did not seek re-election in 2018.

• Sally Ann Gonzales (District 3)
• Macario Saldate (District 3)
• Wenona Benally (District 7)
• Eric Descheenie (District 7)
• Mark Cardenas (District 19)
• Lela Alston (District 24)
• Ken Clark (District 24)
• Rebecca Rios (District 27)
• Ray Martinez (District 30)
• Tony Navarrete (District 30)

Four state Senate Democrats did not seek re-election in 2018.

• Olivia Cajero Bedford (District 3)
• Steve Farley (District 9)
• Katie Hobbs (District 24)
• Robert Meza (District 30)

Incumbents defeated

No incumbents were defeated in 2018.

Competitiveness

See also: 2018 primary election competitiveness in state and federal government and Arizona state legislative Republican primaries, 2018

Year	Total seats	Open seats	Total candidates	Democratic primaries contested	Republican primaries contested	Total contested	Incumbents contested in primaries	Total incumbents contested in primaries
2018	90	33	210	21	21	35%	26	45.6%
2016	90	26	167	11	13	20.0%	19	29.7%
2014	90	27	187	10	21	25.8%	24	38.1%

Primaries with educators running

Ballotpedia identified races in the 2018 Arizona state legislative Democratic primary elections where an educator or someone close to education filed to run. We looked for individuals working in K-12 public education and higher education (past and present), those involved with school boards and parent/teacher organizations, and those with immediate family members working in education. For clarity, we refer to all of these individuals as educators.

We identified 27 educators: nine running for state Senate and 18 running for state House. Thirteen ran in competitive primaries: four in the Senate and nine in the House.

If you know of an educator who should be included, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Arizona public school teachers strike

See also:

• Statewide public education strikes, 2018
• 2018 Arizona legislative session
• Public education in Arizona

A teacher vote between April 17 and 19 resulted in the decision to strike on April 26. The vote was organized by Arizona Educators United, which describes itself on Twitter as "an education group created to support Arizona educators." Arizona teachers began a statewide strike—the first ever in the state—on April 26, 2018, after protesting throughout the month at schools and the state capitol for higher pay and education funding. The strike lasted six days, ending on May 3, 2018, after Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed an education bill raising teacher pay by 20 percent by 2020 and allocating $371 million to restore recession-era cuts over five years.

Partisan control

The tables below show the partisan breakdowns of the Arizona House of Representatives and the Arizona State Senate as of August 2018:

Arizona House of Representatives

Party		As of August 2018
	Democratic Party	25
	Republican Party	35
	Vacancies	0
Total		60

Arizona State Senate

Party		As of August 2018
	Democratic Party	13
	Republican Party	17
	Vacancies	0
Total		30

Voter information

How the primary works

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Arizona utilizes a semi-closed primary system. Unaffiliated voters may choose which party's primary they will vote in, but voters registered with a party can only vote in that party's primary.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

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.

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. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. 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 October 2025: 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 that is dated within 90 days of the election
• 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.

Early voting

Arizona permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.

Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.

Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia permit no-excuse early voting.

Absentee voting

All voters are eligible to vote absentee/by-mail in Arizona. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee/by-mail.

To vote absentee/by-mail, an absentee/mail-in ballot application must be received by elections officials by 5:00 p.m. 11 days prior to the election. A returned absentee ballot must then be received by elections officials by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.

See also

• Arizona state legislative Republican primaries, 2018
• Arizona House of Representatives elections, 2018
• Arizona State Senate elections, 2018
• Arizona State Legislature
• Arizona elections, 2018