{"id":15260217,"date":"2026-08-18T23:52:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T03:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/justices-uphold-sweeping-gop-election-measure-for-november-ballot\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T00:03:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T04:03:27","slug":"justices-uphold-sweeping-gop-election-measure-for-november-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/justices-uphold-sweeping-gop-election-measure-for-november-ballot\/","title":{"rendered":"Justices uphold sweeping GOP election measure for November ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/azmirror.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px\" \/><figcaption>\n<p style=\"font-size:12px\">Photo via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a Republican-backed ballot referral that would amend the state\u2019s constitution to make sweeping changes to how elections are conducted can remain on the November ballot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Critics had argued that Proposition 144, also known as the \u201cFast Accurate Secure Transparent Election Results Act,\u201d violated a provision in the Arizona Constitution that demands that proposed constitutional amendments be limited to a single action.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<aside>        <a href=\"https:\/\/azmirror.com\/subscribe\" style=\"text-decoration:none\" aria-label=\"Get the morning headlines delivered to your inbox.\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"subscribeShortcodeContainer\">\n<div class=\"subscribeTextContainer\">\n                <i class=\"fas fa-envelope\"><\/i><\/p>\n<p>GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"subscribeButtonContainer\">\n<div>SUBSCRIBE<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>        <\/a><br \/>\n        <\/aside>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The GOP-crafted ballot measure would prohibit foreign nationals from spending money to influence state elections \u2014 they are already barred from giving to candidates, but can give money to other political committees \u2014 require every voter to show government identification before casting a ballot in every election and require all polling locations to provide on-site tabulation of ballots for voters who want it. It would also create a new standard for challenging election laws enacted by the state legislature.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It also adds a constitutional provision declaring that \u201conly citizens may register and vote in Arizona elections,\u201d and that the results of the elections \u201cshall be decided solely by the votes of eligible citizen voters.\u201d Both of those provisions are already in state law, and have been since Arizona became a state.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tempe City Councilman Randy Keating challenged Prop. 144\u2019s constitutionality and sought to have it removed from the ballot, claiming that it violated the Arizona Constitution\u2019s Separate Amendment Rule.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A trial court dismissed Keating\u2019s arguments last week, and he appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court, which concurred with the lower court in its ruling on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vice Chief Justice John Lopez <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.azcourts.gov\/Portals\/0\/ASC-CV260235%20-%208-18-2026%20-%20FILED%20-%20ASC%20DECISION%20ORDER.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">wrote for the majority<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that the provisions in Prop. 144 were topically related, given they all pertain to the administration of Arizona elections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThey embrace the single general topic of election administration of public elections; they concern a single new constitutional section; and they are qualitatively similar in their shared aim of ensuring that Arizona elections are decided by, and only by, eligible citizen voters,\u201d Lopez wrote.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Joining in the majority opinion were Justices James Beene, Bill Montgomery and Kathryn King.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lopez wrote that even though the provisions cover different aspects of election administration, they are all aimed at \u201cprotecting the franchise from ineligible participation and foreign influence and ensuring eligible votes are accurately counted.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Written by state Rep. Alexander Kolodin, a Scottsdale Republican, Prop. 144 was one of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/azmirror.com\/2026\/06\/13\/az-legislature-ends-2026-session-after-late-night-gop-push-to-send-conservative-agenda-to-voters\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">five controversial last-minute ballot referrals<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that the Republicans who control the Arizona Legislature approved along party lines in a marathon night of voting on the last day of the annual legislative session in June.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kolodin, the Republican nominee challenging Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in his race for reelection in November, is an attorney and election denier who was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/azmirror.com\/2023\/12\/14\/gop-lawmaker-alexander-kolodin-sanctioned-for-2020-kraken-lawsuit-other-election-cases\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">sanctioned by the Arizona State Bar in 2023<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for his part in lawsuits challenging the 2020 election that made implausible and evidence-free claims of massive election fraud.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chief Justice Ann Timmer and Justice Maria Elena Cruz dissented, writing that they would reverse the lower court\u2019s decision because portions of Prop. 144 are not sufficiently related to one another that they \u201cshould stand or fall as a whole.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In their dissent, Timmer and Cruz wrote that the provisions requiring counties to offer on-site tabulation for voters on Election Day to speed up results and a section that would make challenging election laws passed by the legislature more difficult are distinct enough from the rest of the measure that they constitute separate amendments. Voters should be able decide on them separately, they said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Justice Clint Bolick recused himself from the case.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Arizona Supreme Court has yet to rule on whether <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/azmirror.com\/2026\/08\/17\/prop-144-fontes-urges-high-court-to-reject-trump-linked-firms-ballot-rewrite-bid-for-election-reform-measure\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">it will force Fontes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to change the description of Prop. 144 to be placed on the ballot. The Trump-aligned America First Legal Foundation challenged the description, saying it was misleading and didn\u2019t contain key provisions. The high court has until the Aug. 20 ballot printing deadline to make its ruling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<aside>        <a href=\"https:\/\/azmirror.com\/donate\/?oa_referrer=midstorybox\" style=\"text-decoration:none\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"donateContainer\">\n<div class=\"donateTextContainer\">\n<p>YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"donateButtonContainer\">\n<div>SUPPORT<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>        <\/a><br \/>\n        <\/aside>\n<p class=\"inmi-source\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/azmirror.com\/2026\/08\/18\/prop-144-justices-uphold-sweeping-gop-election-measure-for-november-ballot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">News \u2013 World \u2013 Phoenix \u2013 rss.app2 \u2192 manual entry<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a Republican-backed ballot referral that would amend the state\u2019s constitution to make sweeping changes to how elections are conducted can remain on the November ballot.\u00a0 Critics had argued that Proposition 144, also known\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15260219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[136],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15260217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-phoenix"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1.jpg",1024,683,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1-620x414.jpg",620,414,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1-940x627.jpg",940,627,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1.jpg",1024,683,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1.jpg",1024,683,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1-998x665.jpg",998,665,true],"ignition_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1-670x446.jpg",670,446,true],"ignition_item_lg":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1.jpg",1024,683,false],"ignition_article_media":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1-510x510.jpg",510,510,true],"ignition_minicart_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1-160x160.jpg",160,160,true],"profile_24":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1-24x24.jpg",24,24,true],"profile_48":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1-48x48.jpg",48,48,true],"profile_96":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1-96x96.jpg",96,96,true],"profile_150":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"profile_300":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/15260217-gavel-vote-blocks-getty-1024x683-1-300x300.jpg",300,300,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"news.iNthacity","author_link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/author\/atombo\/"},"category_info":"<a 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