Hobbs says lawmakers could avoid her veto on voting bill

PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs said Friday she’s aware that lawmakers intend to send an issue directly to the ballot in 2026 once she vetoes on Monday a bill to curb voters’ ability to drop off their early ballots.

But Hobbs said it doesn’t need to come to that. The Democratic governor said she’s willing to try again to reach a deal with Republicans that would give them what they want — a Friday before Election Day deadline for ballot drop-offs — if she gets at least some of what she wants.

That is unlikely to happen.

Rep. Alexander Kolodin said some things on Hobbs’ list, such as allowing same-day voter registration, are non-starters with Republicans. Ditto loosening up on regulations about who can bring someone else’s ballot to polling places.

And the Scottsdale Republican said he’s not afraid to put, on the 2026 ballot, exactly what Hobbs has said she will veto Monday. He said polling shows a majority of voters want not just an earlier deadline to drop off early ballots but also new requirements for people to automatically receive early ballots every year.

Hobbs, for her part, said there’s a downside to Republicans refusing to deal.

She said if they truly believe that changing the deadline for early ballots to be dropped off is important, reaching a deal with her now could ensure that happens in time for the 2026 election. But if the issue can’t go to voters until the 2026 election, then the earliest any change could happen would be in 2028.

The dispute stems from some lawmakers and county officials saying voters are frustrated with having to wait days to figure out who has won close elections.

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The key provision of House Bill 2703, sent to the governor on Thursday, spells out that anyone who gets an early ballot has to return it to a polling place or early voting location no later than 7 p.m. the Friday before Election Day.

Those with early ballots still could show up at polling places on Election Day. But they would have to stand in line with others and present identification so that their ballots could be verified on site, speeding up the process.

“I can support taking action that would make election results happen faster,’’ Hobbs said Friday. “But we’re not going to do that in a way that disenfranchises voters. And that’s exactly what this bill does.”

She said she is willing to give on the Friday deadline, and she told GOP lawmakers that.

One of her proposals, for instance, was to scrap existing laws that say only those who have registered to vote 29 days ahead of the election can cast a ballot.

Kolodin said that’s not negotiable. He noted that Arizona requires people to present “documented proof of citizenship’’ before they can register, and that it takes time for workers to verify proof by searching databases.

“We’ve polled all of these things,’’ Kolodin said of the proposed legislation. “We’ve asked people, ‘Do you want this trade-off or not?’ We know this stuff is wildly popular. We know, as much as anybody in politics can know things, that voters will approve it.’’