This November, voters in Arizona will choose whether to create the office of lieutenant governor in the state. A constitutional amendment creating this office will appear on the ballot.
The measure would also have voters elect the governor and lieutenant governor on a joint ticket. If the governor dies or leaves office, the lieutenant governor would take over the role as governor.
Arizona has never had a lieutenant governor – the next in line, in case of an absence, is the secretary of state. However, the governor and secretary of state are elected separately, and can come from different political parties. Currently, Doug Ducey, a Republican, is the governor, and Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, is secretary of state.
The amendment was introduced by Sen. Javan Mesnard (R-13) and Sen. Sean Bowie (D-18). The Arizona State Senate voted 21-6 on March 2, 2022 to approve the amendment. The House followed, voting 43-15 to approve it on June 23. The amendment will go on the ballot for the November 8 general election.
There are currently eight measures on the Arizona ballot this November. The seven others are:
- The In-State Tuition for Non-Citizen Residents Measure, which repeals provisions of Proposition 300 (2006) to allow in-state tuition for non-citizen residents.
- The Voter Identification Requirements for Mail-In Ballots and In-Person Voting Measure, which requires date of birth and voter identification number for mail-in ballots and eliminates two-document alternative to photo ID for in-person voting
- The Sales Tax for Fire District Funding Measure, which creates a 0.1% sales tax for 20 years to fund Arizona’s fire districts.
- The Legislative Changes to Ballot Initiatives with Invalid Provisions Amendment, which allows the legislature to amend or repeal voter-approved ballot measures that contain provisions ruled unconstitutional or invalid by the state or federal supreme court.
- The Single-Subject Requirement for Ballot Initiatives Amendment, which requires citizen-initiated ballot measures to embrace a single subject.
- The Property Tax Exemptions Amendment, which allows the legislature to set certain property tax exemption amounts and qualifications rather than determining details in the constitution
- The 60% Supermajority Vote Requirement for Constitutional Amendments and Ballot Initiatives Amendment, which Requires a three-fifths (60%) supermajority vote to pass ballot initiatives (both statutes and constitutional amendments) and legislatively referred amendments
In Arizona, 73 legislatively referred constitutional amendments have been on the ballot between 1985 and 2020. Forty-four (60%) of them have been approved, and 29 (40%) of them have been defeated.
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