Welcome to the Wednesday, June 26, Brew.
By: Briana Ryan
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Arizona State Legislature refers 11 measures to the general election ballot, most since 1984
- Cumulative Democratic and Republican party committee fundraising reached $1 billion in May
- Candidate filing deadlines scheduled for the next two weeks
Arizona State Legislature refers 11 measures to the general election ballot, most since 1984
The Arizona State Legislature adjourned earlier this month, referring 11 measures to the ballot—five state statutes and six constitutional amendments. This is the most legislatively referred measures on the ballot since 1984, when 13 measures were on the ballot. This is also the third-highest year on record in the state.
Some measures did not make the ballot—an additional 15 amendments and five statutes passed one chamber but not the other.
Arizona has a divided government. Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) was elected in 2022. This is the first time since 2008 that Arizona had a Democratic governor. Meanwhile, the Republican Party has controlled both chambers of the Legislature since 2003.
In April, Hobbs set the record for the most vetoes of any governor in Arizona history, vetoing a total of 185 bills since taking office in January 2023. In Arizona, legislatively referred measures do not require gubernatorial approval to go on a statewide ballot for a popular vote of the people, and so provide a different approach for the legislature to potentially enact policy.
The most legislative referrals were on the ballot in 1980, when the Legislature referred 16 measures. In 1984, the second-largest number of referred measures—15—were on the ballot. This year, 2024, has the third largest number of referred measures. In all three years—1980, 1984, and 2024—Arizona had a divided government with a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled legislature.
In Arizona, a simple majority vote in both chambers of the Legislature is needed to refer an amendment or statute to the ballot. Constitutional amendments and referred statutes do not require a governor’s signature for approval. As the governor cannot veto referred measures, including statutes, legislators may send a law to voters to decide rather than the governor’s desk.
For example, in March 2024, Hobbs vetoed a bill that would have made crossing the border without authorization a misdemeanor state crime. The state Legislature drafted and approved a new proposal that included provisions from the vetoed bill. This time, instead of sending it to Hobbs, legislators sent it to the ballot. State Sen. Janae Shamp (R-29), who sponsored the vetoed bill, said, “I’m proud that we’re including much of that language in the Secure the Border Act, so that we can send this to the ballot to the citizens — we the people.”
Like Arizona, Wisconsin has a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled state Legislature. Between 2011 and 2018 in Wisconsin, when there was a Republican trifecta, there was an average of 0.4 measures on the ballot each year, with no more than 1 measure on the ballot each year. Between 2019 and 2024, with a Democratic governor and Republican Legislature, there was an average of 1.5 measures on the ballot per year, with 3 measures on the ballot in 2023 and five measures on the ballot this year in 2024. Two measures were approved on April 2, with two on the ballot on Aug. 13 and one on the ballot on Nov. 5. Nevada, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, and Vermont also have governors of a different party than the one in control of their state legislatures.
In Arizona, while there are currently 11 measures on the ballot, the number may increase with citizen initiatives. For citizen-initiated measures to be on the ballot, enough valid signatures must be submitted by July 3, 2024. The following are the legislatively referred measures on the 2024 Arizona ballot:
- Legal Challenge to Initiative Amendment
- Criminal Conviction Fee for First Responder Death Financial Benefit Measure
- Emergency Declarations Amendment
- End Term Limits and Retention Elections for Supreme Court Justices and Superior Court Judges Amendment
- Immigration and Border Law Enforcement Measure
- Legislative Ratification of Rules that Increase Regulatory Costs Measure
- Life Imprisonment for Sex Trafficking of a Child Measure
- Property Tax Refund for Non-Enforcement of Public Nuisance Laws Measure
- Require Partisan Primaries and Prohibit Primaries Where Candidates Compete Regardless of Party Affiliation Amendment
- Signature Distribution Requirement for Initiatives Amendment
- Wages for Tipped Workers Amendment
For the full details on all 11 measures, click on the link below.
Cumulative Democratic and Republican party committee fundraising reached $1 billion in May
As of May 31, 2024, the end of the most recent party committee campaign finance filing period, the three committees associated with the Democratic Party have raised a cumulative $565 million and spent $428 million for the 2024 election cycle, while the three committees associated with the Republican Party have raised $486 million and spent $365 million. Cumulatively, all six committees have raised $1.1 billion so far this cycle.
This figure is similar to those of the 2022 and 2020 election cycles. All six committees had raised nearly $1.2 billion in the 2022 cycle and a little over $1.1 billion in 2020.
The three Democratic committees are the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). The three Republican committees are the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
The DNC and DCCC each maintain a lead over their Republican counterparts in cumulative receipts, disbursements, and cash on hand as of May 31, 2024. The NRSC leads the DSCC in receipts and disbursements, while the DSCC leads in cash on hand. See the table below for exact figures.
Compared to previous cycles, the Democratic committees’ cumulative receipts as of May ($565 million) outpace their receipts at this point in the 2020 election cycle ($476 million) but are lower than their receipts at this point in the 2022 election cycle ($580 million). On the Republican side, the three committees have raised $486 million as of last month, which is lower than their May 2020 fundraising total ($639 million) and their May 2022 fundraising total ($596 million).
Candidate filing deadlines scheduled for the next two weeks
We are well into the 2024 election cycle, so it is a great time to take a look at important upcoming filing deadlines that candidates need to be aware of to run in their state’s elections.
In order to get on the ballot, candidates must meet a variety of state-specific filing requirements and deadlines. These regulations, known as ballot access laws, determine whether and how candidates appear on an election ballot. These laws are set at the state level and apply to candidates running for state or federal offices.
Six states have upcoming candidate filing deadlines in the next two weeks. After that, filing deadlines will have passed for all congressional offices except the six U.S. House seats up for election in Louisiana. The map and bulleted list below show which states have candidate filing deadlines scheduled between June 26 and July 9, 2024.
- Delaware: July 9 (statewide partisan filing deadline)
- Georgia: July 9 (filing deadline for unaffiliated candidates, including presidential)
- Indiana: July 1 (filing deadline for unaffiliated candidates, including presidential), July 3 (statewide write-in filing deadline)
- Nevada: July 5 (presidential unaffiliated deadline)
- New Mexico: June 27 (filing deadline for write-in and unaffiliated candidates, including presidential)
- Rhode Island: June 26 (statewide filing deadline for all candidates)
Looking ahead
Stay tuned for more information about running for office in upcoming contests!