Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) said in a Saturday interview on “The Jeff Oravitz Show” podcast that he is “optimistic” Hobbs will sign legislation the lawmaker said will result in faster election results in the state.
Petersen and other lawmakers last week introduced SB 1011 last week, which would require voters submit their mail-in ballot by Friday at 7 p.m. or else vote on Election Day, and change how ballots are handled when voters cast them in person.
“Arizona was the last state in the country to provide electoral votes,” Petersen told host Jeff Oravitz, in an episode of the eponymous podcast posted to X. “What we want to do is provide election results night of, that is the whole purpose of this bill. What we’re going to do is follow the Florida model.”
Petersen suggested the legislation will pass the Arizona Legislature without much trouble, and told Oravitz he is “optimistic” overwhelming public sentiment will convince Hobbs to sign the legislation.
“Early on, her spokesperson was pretty pessimistic. I would say the last statement I heard, they were more open minded, they said we’re open to it so long as it doesn’t suppress votes,” said Petersen.
In the wake of voters passing the Secure The Border Act in a November referendum, Republicans have also suggested that any legislation vetoed by Hobbs could eventually be decided by the state’s voters in a 2026 referendum.
