Arizona Republicans are warning that Democrats, only a couple of seats away from majorities in both legislative chambers, would have a profound effect on the state's business and political climate.
Should Democrats pick up the couple of seats needed to hold majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives, it would give Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs a runway to implement her agenda without the check of a Republican-controlled Legislature for the final years of her first term.
The Democratic Caucus has established a plan they say would allow them to hit the ground running in 2025 should they take control of the Legislature. These priorities were analyzed in a series of stories published by The Center Square. And now, Republicans are speaking up.
“Each one of these areas are things that they’ve tried to run legislation on,” said Representative John Gillette. “They’ve made their intent very clear, and for most of us it’s very scary.”
One of the major battles between the two parties when it comes to education on how Arizona’s Education Savings Account money is being used. ESA dollars allow parents to spend taxpayer money dedicated to their child on educational expenses including private school tuition.
This last legislative session, Democrats introduced a multi-bill plan to expand voter access, but none of the bills made it past a committee hearing. In part, because Republicans argue it would increase the odds of fraudulent elections and be detrimental to voters.
The package, if enacted, would have allowed ballot harvesting, re-established the permanent early voters list and allowed voter registration up until election day. Republicans argue that it is a U.S. citizen’s right and responsibility to vote and that it should be up to them to ensure they vote.
“It’s an individual responsibility and a constitutional right and if those citizens don’t feel that they have the time in their day to observe their constitutional rights, then maybe we don’t need their vote,” Gillette said. “If they can’t take the five minutes to fill out their ballot and stick it in the box, then do we really need their vote?”
Shope said that it is almost impossible in today’s society not to know when an election is taking place, who is running and how to register.
Another priority for Democrats is increasing gun control, which Republicans believe is a constitutional violation and not the answer to the problem Democrats are trying to solve – shootings involving children in the home and at schools.
“It’s behavior control because the gun doesn’t do anything,” Gillette said. “The gun is an inanimate object and we need to control the emotions and behaviors of young kids.”
One of the laws proposed by Democratic legislators is Christian’s Law, which would require proper and safe storage of guns in the home, but Shope said that’s going too far.
