From Ballotpedia | Arizona Proposition 131 | |
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| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic State executive official measures | |
| Status On the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
Arizona Proposition 131, the Create Office of Lieutenant Governor Amendment, was on the ballot in Arizona as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.
A "yes" vote supported this constitutional amendment to create the position of lieutenant governor, who would be elected on a joint ticket with the governor, and who would succeed the governor in case of a vacancy. |
A "no" vote opposed this constitutional amendment to create the position of lieutenant governor. |
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Arizona Proposition 131 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 1,038,154 | 55.15% | ||
| No | 844,271 | 44.85% | ||
Proposition 131 would create the position of lieutenant governor in Arizona. Legislators would pass bills to prescribe the lieutenant governor's duties. As of 2022, Arizona was one of five states without a lieutenant governor. [1]
The state's lieutenant governor would be elected on a joint ticket with the governor. Currently, 26 states elect the governor and lieutenant governor on a joint ticket. The ballot measure would require gubernatorial candidates to select running mates at least 60 days before the general election, although the legislature could prescribe a different date. The first election for a joint governor and lieutenant governor ticket would be November 3, 2026.[1]
If the incumbent governor dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor would succeed to the governor's office. Currently, the secretary of state succeeds to the governor's office in these situations.[1] In Arizona's history, the secretary of state has succeeded the office of governor six times.
If the lieutenant governor's office becomes vacant, the governor would appoint a person to serve as lieutenant governor, subject to legislative approval.[1]
In most states, the role of lieutenant governor is to assume duties of the governor if the governor is out of state or incapacitated. If the current governor dies in office, resigns, or retires, the lieutenant governor takes over the office of governor. The other roles of lieutenant governor vary by state, but many preside over the upper chamber of the state legislature, take other legislative duties, or head executive departments.
This ballot measure is designed to have the legislature prescribe the duties of lieutenant governor.
As of November 2022, the secretary of state will take office if the governor dies, resigns, or retires. The next in line is the attorney general, followed by the treasurer, and then the superintendent of public instruction. The line of succession is outlined in Article 5, Section 6 in the Arizona Constitution.
The official ballot title was as follows:[1]
| “ | Official Title Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Arizona; amending Article V, Section 1, Constitution of Arizona, as amended by Proposition 100, election of November 3, 1992; amending Article V, sections 6 and 9, Constitution of Arizona; relating to the executive department. Descriptive Title The constitutional amendment would create a new executive officer who would be elected on a joint ticket with the govenor and succeed to the Office of Governor in the event of the governor’s death, removal from office, or disability to discharge the duties of the office. [2] |
” |
The official ballot summary was as follows:[1]
| “ |
A “YES” vote shall have the effect of amending the constitution to create the office of Lieutenant Governor beginning with the 2026 election; requiring that a nominee for Governor name a nominee for Lieutenant Governor to be jointly elected; replacing the Secretary of State with the Lieutenant Governor as first in the line of succession to the office of Governor; and provide that the Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Attorney General, and Superintendent of Public Instruction may succeed to the office of Governor regardless of whether they were elected. A “NO” vote shall have the effect of retaining the current executive branch and existing law on executive succession. [2] |
” |
The ballot measure would amend Section 1, Section 6, and Section 9 of Article 5 of the Arizona Constitution. The following underlined text would be added and struck-through text would be deleted:[1]
Note: Use your mouse to scroll over the below text to see the full text.
Section 1 of Article 5 A. The executive department shall consist of the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer B. The person having the highest number of the votes cast for the office voted for shall be elected, but if two or more persons have an equal and the highest number of votes for the office, the two houses of the legislature at its next regular session shall elect forthwith, by joint ballot, one of such persons for said office. C. Not later than sixty days before the general election unless the legislature prescribes otherwise by statute, each nominee for the office of governor shall name a lieutenant governor nominee and shall run on a ticket as a joint candidate in the general election with that nominee for the office of lieutenant governor. The name of the nominee for lieutenant governor shall appear on the ballot with or below the name of the joint nominee for governor in a manner that indicates they are running on a ticket as joint candidates. At the general election, a single vote for a nominee for governor shall constitute a vote for that nominee's ticket, including the nominee for lieutenant governor. For any winning candidate for governor at the general election, that winning candidate's joint candidate for lieutenant governor is the winning candidate for lieutenant governor.
Section 6 of Article 5 A. In the event of the death of the governor, or B. In the event of the death of the lieutenant governor, or the lieutenant governor's resignation, removal from office or permanent disability to discharge the duties of the office, the governor shall appoint a person to serve as lieutenant governor, subject to approval by a majority vote of the members of each house of the legislature. C. If a vacancy in the office of governor occurs with or during a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor, the secretary of state D. The taking of the oath of office as governor by any person specified in this section shall constitute resignation from the office by virtue of the holding of which E. In the event of the impeachment of the governor, Section 9 of Article 5 The powers and duties of lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer |
Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.
The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 13, and the FRE is 20. The word count for the ballot title is 99.
The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 16, and the FRE is 26. The word count for the ballot summary is 107.
Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.
Ballotpedia has not identified ballot measure committees registered to support or oppose the ballot measure.[3]
| Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Oppose | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Voters in Arizona had twice rejected ballot measures to create the position of lieutenant governor.
As of 2022, the Arizona Constitution stated that the secretary of state is first in the line of succession to the governor's office if the governor vacates the office. Between 1912—when Arizona became a state—and 2022, the secretary of state succeeded the governor due to a vacancy in the governor's office on six occasions. Twice—in 1988 and 2008—the successions caused a change in partisan control of the governor's office. The following is a list of successions:
In 26 states, the lieutenant governor is selected on a ticket with the governor, meaning that lieutenant gubernatorial candidates serve as running mates to gubernatorial candidates, with the winning gubernatorial candidate's running mate becoming lieutenant governor. In eight of these states, there are separate primaries for governor and lieutenant governor, with the winning candidate in each primary appearing on the general election ticket. In the remaining 18 states, gubernatorial candidates may pick their own running mates in a similar fashion to presidential candidates. In 17 states, the lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor. In Tennessee and West Virginia, the title of lieutenant governor is given to the president of the state Senate.[4]
From 1985 to 2020, the state legislature voted to refer 73 constitutional amendments to voters, who approved 44 and rejected 29. The following table provides information on legislatively referred constitutional amendments in Arizona from 1985 to 2020:
| Referred statutes on the ballot in Arizona, 1985-2020 | |||||||||
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| Total number | Approved | Percent approved | Defeated | Percent defeated | Even-year average | Even-year median | Even-year minimum | Even-year maximum | |
| 73 | 44 | 60.3% | 29 | 39.7% | 4.1 | 4.0 | 0 | 8 | |
In Arizona, a simple majority vote is required in the Arizona State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 31 votes in the Arizona House of Representatives and 16 votes in the Arizona State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
The constitutional amendment was introduced as Senate Concurrent Resolution 1024 (SCR 1024) during the 2022 legislative session. On March 2, 2022, the Senate voted 21-6 to pass the resolution. On June 23, 2022, the House voted 43-15 to pass the resolution.[5] With approval in both the Senate and House, the constitutional amendment was referred to the ballot.
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Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Arizona.
| How to cast a vote in Arizona | |||||
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Poll times[edit]In Arizona, all polling places are open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.[6][7] Registration[edit]To vote in Arizona, one must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of an Arizona county. A voter must be 18 years or older on or before Election Day.[8] To be eligible to vote in an election one must register at least 29 days prior to the election. Individuals can register online, in person at the county recorder's office, or by mail.[8] Automatic registration[edit]Arizona does not practice automatic voter registration. Online registration[edit]
Arizona has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registration[edit]Arizona does not allow same-day voter registration. Residency requirements[edit]Arizona law requires 29 days of residency in the state before a person may vote. Verification of citizenship[edit]
On March 30, 2022, Governor Doug Ducey (R) signed HB2492 into law. HB2492 requires that voters submitting registration forms not produced by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission submit proof of citizenship along with their registration forms. In the case of registration forms produced by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, HB2492 requires election officials to "use all available resources to verify the citizenship status" of applicants. Should officials be unable to verify a voter's citizenship status, that voter will be barred from voting in a presidential election or by mail in any election, pending submission of proof of citizenship. Should officials determine that a voter is not a citizen, officials will be required to forward the registration application to the county attorney and the attorney general for investigation. Officials who fail to comply with these requirements are guilty of a Class 6 felony.[9] Verifying your registration[edit]The site Voter View, run by the Arizona Secretary of State's office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online. Voter ID requirements[edit]Arizona requires voters to present photo identification or two forms of non-photo identification while voting.[10][11] The following were accepted forms of identification as of November 2022. Click here for the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information. Voters can present one of the following forms of ID that contain the voter’s photograph, name, and address:
If a voter does not have one of the above forms of ID, the voter can present two of the following forms of ID that contain the voter’s name and address:
Additionally, if a voter presents photo ID that does not list an address within the precinct in which he or she wants to cast a vote, that person may present the photo ID with one non-photo identification material from the second list above. The identification material should include the voter’s address. | |||||
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