Justices uphold sweeping GOP election measure for November ballot

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled 4-2 that Proposition 144, a Republican-crafted ballot measure bundling voter ID mandates, foreign-spending bans, on-site tabulation requirements, and a new standard for challenging legislature-passed election laws, can stay on the November ballot. Tempe Councilman Randy Keating had argued the measure illegally combined unrelated changes in violation of the state constitution's single-subject rule for amendments, but the majority found the provisions topically related enough to survive.

Two of the measure's declarations — that only citizens may register and vote, and that election results are decided solely by eligible citizen voters — are already enshrined in state law and have been since statehood. The measure's author, Rep. Alexander Kolodin, was sanctioned by the Arizona bar in 2023 for filing evidence-free 2020 election fraud lawsuits and is now running against the sitting Secretary of State.

Chief Justice Ann Timmer and Justice Maria Elena Cruz dissented, arguing the on-site tabulation and litigation-standard provisions are distinct enough that voters should decide them separately. The court has yet to rule on a separate challenge, brought by a Trump-aligned legal group, over whether the ballot description of the measure is misleading.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.