A trial began on Thursday over a lawsuit Kari Lake filed against Maricopa County objecting to its refusal to allow her to use public records law to inspect ballot affidavits, which are signatures from voters on the mail-in envelopes for their ballots.
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A powerful network of liberal donors are reportedly planning to oppose No Labels, the newest political party to be recognized in Arizona, as Democrats in the state express concerns the party could serve as a spoiler and cause President Joe Biden to lose the 2024 presidential election.
The influential Democracy Alliance, the nation’s largest club for wealthy liberal donors, told German-owned Politico that Democrats are “increasingly concerned” that a No Labels presidential ticket “could function as a spoiler” for Biden and help former President Donald Trump regain the White House.
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Several parents and children attended a meeting of the Chandler Public Library Board Tuesday night to protest “pornographic” books geared to children located in the children’s section of the Basha branch library. The board, which met at that branch, let each attendee speak for two minutes, who used their time to read from the offending books and describe what was contained in them.
A young woman named Audrey, who said she was the 2021 class president of the adjacent high school, read from a book for 10-year olds that discussed masturbation and abortion. A book about “genderqueer” discussed “strap-ons” and “blow jobs,” she said.
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A lawsuit aimed at disqualifying former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot in Arizona is set to be heard by a federal judge on October 23.
The lawsuit was filed in Arizona federal court by John Anthony Castro, who Arizona’s Family describes as a “long-shot Republican presidential candidate from Texas.” Castro, who claims to be mounting a nationwide write-in campaign, argues that Trump’s alleged role in the civil unrest on January 6, 2021 should preclude him from running for office.
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Kari Lake’s appeal of the second dismissal of her lawsuit by the trial court judge is winding its way back up through the courts.
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Arizona is projected to be the recipient of nearly $1 billion in political advertising during the 2024 cycle, meaning the Grand Canyon State will receive the highest share of spending of any battleground state, and the second highest of any state in the union, should the projections be correct.
The state is expected to see about $821 million in advertising over the 2024 political cycle, according to a new report published by AdImpact. Arizona will receive almost $100 million more than the second highest battleground state, Pennsylvania, which is estimated to receive $725 million.
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The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is reportedly asking vendors to delay deliveries of major equipment to its facility in Arizona. This comes after TSMC delayed the opening of its Arizona chip facility until 2025, and amid reports the company will not manufacture complete semiconductors in the United States.
TSMC is asking manufacturers of high-end semiconductor equipment to hold off on deliveries to its Arizona facility, according to a report released Friday by Reuters. The Taiwanese semiconductor giant is reportedly concerned about decreasing costs, and is “increasingly concerned” about cooling consumer demand, though the company referred to the report as a “market rumor” in a statement to Reuters.
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Arizona students have been majorly impacted long-term by virtual learning throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
A new report from the Common Sense Institute Arizona estimates a possible 18,419 fewer high school graduates by 2032 and 26,281 fewer college graduates in 2026 in Arizona stemming from poor standardized testing scores in the aftermath of the pandemic.
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Counties in Southern Arizona have seen a sudden influx of busloads filled with processed asylum-seeking immigrants released into towns, and local officials are calling for answers.
County sheriffs began alerting the public this week to the increased number of migrant releases, which indicate a surge of immigrants seeking entry into the U.S. larger than federal facilities and local nonprofits can contain.
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An Arizona State Senate panel rejected the nomination of Joan Serviss to run the Arizona Department of Housing in a 3-2 vote on Thursday, with Republican senators highlighting alleged “systemic” plagiarism by Serviss in letters she wrote to the federal government while working in advocacy. Arizona State Senator Jake Hoffman…
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Three Republicans in the Arizona House of Representatives signed a letter questioning Flagstaff’s plan to see firearm advertisements banned from public buildings and facilities. The letter came after Flagstaff city leaders received a draft of new advertising guidelines that explicitly ban any mention of firearms or ammunition, even though the previous policy focused on banning “violence” and “antisocial behavior” in the advertisements.
Arizona State Representatives David Marshall (R-Snowflake), Leo Biasiucci (R-Lake Havasu), and Quang Nguyen (R-Prescott) warned the draft policy “raises a host of constitutional concerns, including viewpoint discrimination, and very likely violates state law,” urging the city leaders to “postpone your consideration” until the new policy adheres Arizona law and the U.S. Constitution.
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The disbarment trial of former President Donald Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar, John Eastman, started its fifth week with testimony from Eastman’s star witness, Berkeley Constitutional Law professor John Yoo.
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State Representative Alex Kolodin (R-Scottsdale), chair of the Arizona House Ad Hoc Committee on Oversight, Accountability, and Big Tech, held the first of a series of hearings last week investigating the impact of Big Tech’s election interference.
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The new director of Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program announced plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) to “scale up” the program’s operations after 50,000 students joined the school voucher program.
Arizona now has nearly 62,000 students enrolled in the ESA program, according to Arizona Capitol Times, including about 12,000 students who enrolled in the last three months. The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) previously estimated another 50,000 students could join over the next year.
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Even though appellate court judges deal out precedent-setting rulings statewide, those judges are elected only by those in their areas.
With the aid of former Supreme Court Justice Andrew Gould, the Goldwater Institute is representing four Arizonans in Knight, et al. v. Fontes. The case, brought directly to the state Supreme Court, seeks to make appellate court judicial retention elections a statewide matter instead of split into divisions.
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Google broke ground on its new data center in Mesa on Wednesday, as Arizona continues to bring in businesses to the outskirts of the Phoenix metropolitan area.
The $600 million facility will create an estimated 1,200 construction jobs, but it’s unknown how many jobs it will have once the facility is up and running.
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On Wednesday the City of Phoenix approved casitas, or accessory dwelling units (ADUs), to be built in back yards of existing homes, in a move aimed at shoring up the amount of affordable housing in the city.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and city council members approved the change to the city’s zoning to help address the 270,000 housing unit shortage in Arizona, reported ABC 15.
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State Senator Justine Wadsack (R-Tucson) emerged victorious after the recall petition against her failed, with activists returning zero petitions to the government. Wadsack, speaking to The Arizona Sun Times, thanked her supporters in Legislative District 17 for becoming her surrogates through the process.
Wadsack said in a press release that “the far left so-called ‘recall effort’ in LD17 has failed” to return “a single signature” by the September 5 deadline, and said their failure “amounts to a third electoral victory after being nominated in 2022 and then elected in November.” She added that the recall “was never a serious effort” but rather “a 4-month social media campaign with little to no ground game.”
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Parental rights advocacy group Moms for Liberty announced a public town hall event in Mesa, Arizona, on September 14, with confirmed attendees including State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, four Republican state legislators, Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich, and award-winning musician and actress Mary Millben.
Described as an “honest discussion on the state of education and parental rights in Arizona,” Moms for Liberty revealed on X, formerly Twitter, that State Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), State Senator Justine Wadsack (R-Tucson), State Representative Justin Heap (R-Mesa), and State Representative Barbara Parker (R-Mesa) are also scheduled to attend as members of a panel.
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Arizona Republican Party Chairman Jeff DeWit said on Friday in an email to the members of the Arizona GOP Executive Committee the party will not change the method of election administration for the party’s March 2024 GOP Presidential Primary, rejecting a proposal made to the state party six days earlier by the Maricopa County Republican Party to replace the state government administered primary election with a “firehouse primary,” one administered by the party itself rather than the state government.
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President Joe Biden launched a new ad in Arizona on Labor Day touting a “manufacturing boom” as part of a $25 million advertising campaign in battleground states, even after the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) recently delayed its new Phoenix microchip plant claiming the state lacks skilled talent.
The 30-second ad features Phoenix resident Bill Ruiz, according to The Hill, who brags that “we’re building some of the biggest tech factories in the world right here” in Arizona, and specifically lists new semiconductor factories as an example, ultimately crediting “the laws that Joe Biden got passed” for making their construction possible.
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More Arizona voters have continued to change their party affiliation to independent, making it the state’s largest voting bloc. This means more than 1.4 million voters will be unable to cast a ballot in the state’s 2024 presidential primary contests.
The Arizona Secretary of State released new data this month dating from July 2023, revealing that 1,450,697 Arizonans, or 34.55 percent of the state’s voters, are now registered independent.
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Scottsdale, Arizona, officials have enlisted one of the state’s most powerful advocacy organizations in proposing numerous changes to crack down on short term rental properties.
Scottsdale, which is popular for tourism, is pushing for three changes at the state level backed by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns 2024 Legislative Agenda. The organization, headed by Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls, represents the state’s municipalities in lobbying for changes at the state level.
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Arizona Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope (R-Florence) this week called on the Arizona Board of Regents to investigate Arizona State University (ASU) Athletic Director Ray Anderson for the “raft of improprieties and frankly embarrassing issues” that have occurred under his tenure.
In a letter sent to the board of regents, the agency that oversees state universities, Shope details that Anderson’s actions have troubled him for some time now, so he is calling on the board to investigate these actions and possibly hold someone accountable.
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Runbeck Election Services (RES) confirmed this week that Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma’s (R-Peoria) brother, Mihai Toma, purchased a majority stake in the company on August 18.
RES is the private company that processes Maricopa County’s mail-in ballots.
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As national media outlets warn of a new wave of COVID-19 and suggest pandemic-era responses, State Representative Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale) highlighted two Arizona laws that will prohibit face mask mandates in businesses and schools.
In a press release from the Arizona House of Representatives, the legislator noted that CNN, CBS, and The Washington Times have published articles that either encourage or note “the return of mask mandates” across the country. Chaplik added, “The good news is that mandates won’t be happening here in Arizona.”
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A lawsuit launched by the Department of Justice against Arizona over a makeshift border wall made of shipping containers is set to be dismissed following a final payment of $2.1 million from the state to the U.S. Forest Service, even after Governor Katie Hobbs (D) dismantled the barrier and put the containers up for sale.
The shipping container wall was constructed under former Governor Doug Ducey (R), whose administration argued the hastily constructed barrier was necessary until the Biden administration resumed construction on the southern border wall started by former President Donald Trump. A lawsuit was launched by the federal government just weeks before Hobbs took office.
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All 31 members of the Arizona House Republican Majority Caucus signed a letter calling on Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes to take executive action to protect Arizona from the crisis occurring at the state’s southern border.
This follows reports from last week where officials from the Biden administration inexplicably welded open 114 massive gates along the Arizona border allowing tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to flood into the U.S.
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Ohio biotech entrepreneur and GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has overtaken Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for second place in the Republican Party nomination chase, surging several points since last week’s debate, according to internal polling.
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Arizona state House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) promised Republicans in the legislature will not relent in the partisan fight over Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), even as Governor Katie Hobbs and Arizona Democrats claim the growing school choice initiative is draining the state budget.
Toma said critics of the ESA program are “disingenuous” in their claims for political reasons, asserting that Republicans instead believe it is “the state’s responsibility” to provide education for all children, and “[p]arents want choice” in the matter, during a Friday interview with Arizona Capitol Times.
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An Arizona Republican senator said this week that Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes should stay out of a proposed merger of the state’s two largest grocery chains as they “know very little” about the grocery industry.
Hobbs said on Wednesday that the proposed merger of Kroger Co., the parent company of Smith’s and Fry’s Foods, and Albertsons Companies, which not only runs stores under its name but also acquired Safeway and all of the stores that the company owned in 2015, may have some negative effects on Arizona.
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Arizona State senator and registered nurse Janae Shamp (R-Suprise) reminded Arizonans this week of safeguards put in place by Republicans at the legislature to protect against any effort by the federal government to reinstate COVID-19 mask mandates.
This follows movie studio Lionsgate in Santa Monica, Rutgers University in New Jersey, Georgetown University in Washington DC, and Morris Brown College in Atlanta announcing they are reinstating mask mandates due to reported COVID-19 cases.
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Former President Donald Trump had a mugshot taken of himself at the Fulton County jail where he surrendered on 13 felony charges related to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election result in the state.
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Arizona Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Kristen Sinema (I-AZ) have asked for answers from three federal agencies after the state received just $23.9 million of more than $800 million in funding they helped secure to fund private organizations that house illegal immigrants released into the United States after being encountered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during their transit across the border.
In a letter addressed to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the heads of the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the senators warned that Pima County may be unable to support the influx of migrants in April 2024. They noted that New York City received over four times more funding than Arizona.
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The Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AFEC) warned Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) it will bring a federal lawsuit against him over his alleged failure to maintain accurate voter lists in Arizona. AFEC gave the state until November 6 to rectify these issues, or else the non-profit will launch a federal lawsuit against Fontes.
In a report stating there are more registered voters than residents, or an “abnormally high” number of registered voters, in 14 of Arizona’s 15 counties, AFEC said it sent its letter to Fontes on August 8, urging him to “take his job as Secretary of State seriously” or face legal action.
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Gina Swoboda, executive director of Phoenix-based Voter Reference Foundation (VRF) discussed election problems and what to do about them recently on the Jenny Beth Show. Jenny Beth Martin was an early leader in the Tea Party movement as co-founder of Tea Party Patriots. In this first part of a three-part series from the interview, Swoboda explained how VRF’s websites can be used to look through voter registrations and spot problems with the voter rolls.
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Attorneys for Scot Mussi, the president of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, sent Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes a letter earlier this month threatening litigation if Fontes did not clean up the state’s voter rolls. Attorneys Jason Torchinsky and Dallin Holt of Holtzman Vogel said they “determined that at least four counties have more registered voters than adult citizens over the age of 18.” Apache County had the highest, with 117.4 percent, and Maricopa County was close to 100 percent with 97.8 percent.
The attorneys warned, “This letter provides statutory notice that Scot Mussi, acting as a registered Arizona voter with a substantial interest in secure elections, will bring a lawsuit against you and, if appropriate, against the counties named in this letter, if you fail to take specific actions to correct these violations of Section 8 within the 90-day timeframe specified in federal law.” In anticipation of the litigation, the letter asked Fontes and the 14 counties to “take steps to preserve documents.”
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Federal and local authorities in the Phoenix area have seized nearly 100,000 fentanyl pills and more than 20 pounds of fentanyl powder in just two law enforcement actions. This quantity of the Schedule II drug could potentially cause more than 5 million fatal overdoses.
On August 10, agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), working with local Arizona police, reportedly apprehended three men attempting to sell 50,000 fentanyl pills in the Phoenix area, according to Border Report. Only days later, on August 17, Gila County law enforcement reported seizing 49,500 fentanyl pills and 22.88 pounds of fentanyl powder during a traffic stop in Payson on the previous day. Payson is about 90 minutes away of Phoenix.
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Abe Hamadeh is forging ahead, challenging his 280-vote loss to Democrat Kris Mayes in the attorney general’s race, the closest statewide race in Arizona’s history. He is in the midst of challenging the trial court’s refusal to grant him a new trial after discovering that then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs withheld evidence from him prior to his trial regarding undervotes, votes that were not counted that resulted in narrowing Mayes’ lead. On Wednesday, he filed a reply to Mayes’ objections simultaneously with two amicus curiae briefs in support; one from Arizona legislative leadership and one from the America First Legal Foundation.
Hamadeh’s reply brief, primarily authored by Jennifer Wright, who previously served as the Attorney General’s Election Integrity Unit civil attorney, pointed out various contradictions in Mayes’ response. Mayes claimed that Hamadeh was “both too fast and too slow in attempting to obtain relief in this Court,” the brief stated. On the one hand, Mayes claimed that Hamadeh was causing “unreasonable delay,” yet she still asked for a regular appeals process, not a speedy one.
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Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne (R) released a statement on Thursday “strongly advising” all schools statewide not to enact policies that permit biological males from using biological females’ restrooms, locker rooms, and showers.
According to Horne (pictured above), his statement was prompted by recent questions and concerns from outraged parents about school policies permitting biological males to use biological females’ restroom facilities, saying they may remove their children from schools that allow this in Arizona.
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Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by grand juries in Washington, D.C. and Georgia over his efforts to challenge election fraud after the 2020 election, and an indictment in Arizona may be next.
As concerns spread that Arizona could soon indict Trump, Arizona Republican Party Chair Jeff DeWit denounced recent news that Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs urged Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes to charge Trump.
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Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs said she “absolutely” hopes former President Donald Trump will be criminally charged for his actions while contesting the 2020 election results in Arizona.
Hobbs said she would “absolutely” like to see Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes bring new charges against Trump that mirror those in Georgia, telling local media that such charges would hold those who contested the election “accountable” for their actions.
Hobbs said she would “absolutely” like to see Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes bring new charges against Trump that mirror those in Georgia, telling local media that such charges would hold those who contested the election “accountable” for their actions.
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Prosecutors are reportedly attempting build a case to show that Donald Trump did not really believe there was 2020 election fraud in several states, including Arizona. They convinced a federal grand jury in Washington D.C. to indict Trump on August 1 for challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election, blaming him for the raucous protest at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
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Every two years, the Arizona Secretary of State is required by law to update the state’s Election Procedures Manual (EPM), but similarly to what happened in 2021, the process is not going smoothly. After reviewing the proposed changes Secretary of State Adrian Fontes suggested making to the EPM, State Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa), accompanied by Speaker of the House Ben Toma (R-Peoria), issued a statement on Monday threatening legal action.
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The Arizona House has launched an investigation into the censorship requests by Governor Katie Hobbs, including those revealed by Arizona Capitol Oversight, and those made by other state government officials.
House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) created the panel late last week, enlisting Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) to serve as its chair. In what Kolodin called “an interesting coincidence,” the panel was created the same day Arizona Capitol Oversight released an 8 page report revealing several of Hobbs’ censorship requests to Facebook and Twitter, including one against a member of the Arizona Legislature.
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A Georgia grand jury later Monday night approved 10 indictments in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ election probe, including former President Donald Trump and 18 others.
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A website for Georgia’s Fulton County on Monday briefly listed what appeared to be criminal charges against Donald Trump, with the county’s district attorney expected to indict the former president as soon as Tuesday.
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A class action status has now been granted to a lawsuit alleging that Arizona’s laws concerning the alteration of birth certificates discriminate against transgender individuals, especially minors.
The lawsuit was originally filed against Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) on behalf of three Arizona families, and the court’s decision means its eventual ruling will now “apply to all transgender individuals born in Arizona” who wish to change their birth certificate to reflect their chosen gender identity.
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Arizona Republicans and Democrats are lining up as candidates as the 2024 state election draws closer.
Republicans have a one-seat majority in the state House and Senate and some early candidates are vying for seats to determine which party has control of the legislature.
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Newly released emails reveal that Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, while serving as secretary of state overseeing elections, had her staff pressure social media companies to censor posts by her Republican opponents under the guise of “misinformation.” Her targets included the Arizona Republican Party and former conservative powerhouse legislator Kelly Townsend.
The AZGOP responded in a tweet, “EXPOSED: @GovernorHobbs has relentlessly censored major entities, including the Arizona Republican Party. Shocked? We’re not. It’s time for transparency and accountability. This goes beyond politics—it’s a matter of principle.”
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