Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) deflected criticism Wednesday that her office was slow-walking a signature verification process for a petition seeking a ballot referendum on the state’s new school choice program.
At issue is a petition from the political action committee Save Our Schools Arizona that sought to force a statewide ballot referendum on the state’s newly enacted universal school choice program. The group claimed it had collected over 141,000 signatures, well above the required 118,000. But the Goldwater Institute, a conservative organization, reviewed the submitted signature forms and pegged the number at 88,866, far below the required number.
HERITAGE FOUNDATION RATES FLORIDA AND ARIZONA AS TOP STATES FOR EDUCATION FREEDOM
In response to the Goldwater Institute’s announcement, Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) called on Hobbs, the secretary of state, to “expedite the signature verification process” and thus allow the program to take full effect.
BREAKING: Arizona Governor Doug Ducey: “I am calling on Secretary @katiehobbs to expedite the signature verification project.” pic.twitter.com/fF8YHpY4Wf
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) September 28, 2022
For her part, Hobbs, who is running for governor as the Democratic nominee, wrote in a Twitter thread Wednesday that her office was on track to finish the signature verification process “on or before the 20-day window that the law allows.”
“There is a high level of interest in the outcome of this filing, and we will continue this work efficiently and accurately,” Hobbs wrote. “Regardless of the reports that the number of referendum signatures will fall short, our office must complete the review according to the law.”
There is a high level of interest in the outcome of this filing, and we will continue this work efficiently and accurately. 2/7
— Secretary Katie Hobbs (@SecretaryHobbs) September 28, 2022
“It is disappointing that some elected leaders are intentionally misrepresenting this process to parents to create confusion and deliberately sow discord,” she added.
It is disappointing that some elected leaders are intentionally misrepresenting this process to parents to create confusion and deliberately sow discord. 7/7
— Secretary Katie Hobbs (@SecretaryHobbs) September 28, 2022
Ducey was not the only voice to call out Hobbs. State Rep. Jake Hoffman, the chairman of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, said Hobbs should “stop playing politics with the education of Arizona children.”
The Arizona Freedom Caucus has released the following statement condemning @SecretaryHobbs for denying children access to education: pic.twitter.com/RbM50RPM4K
— Arizona Freedom Caucus (@AZFreedomCaucus) September 28, 2022
“The Arizona Freedom Caucus is demanding that Katie Hobbs immediately reject the insufficient referendum petition, so that families … can have certainty in their children’s ability to access the education of their choosing this year,” Hoffman said.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who is set to face off against Hobbs for the governor’s mansion in November, said that the newly enacted school choice program is “the greatest thing that’s happened for education freedom” and “Katie Hobbs wants to take that away from us.”
“I think it’s absolutely despicable,” Lake said. “She knows that this ‘save our schools’ group did not have the number of signatures. But yet she tried to stop this, she’s trying to stop us from signing our kids up to get that money to go to whatever school we choose to send them to. I think it’s absolutely horrible that she’s doing that, and I hope that parents remember that.”
Kari Lake slams Katie Hobbs for holding up the school choice program: pic.twitter.com/p9jOgyHOVP
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) September 29, 2022
Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children, a national school choice advocacy group, told the Washington Examiner that because Hobbs opposed the expanded school choice program in her campaign platform for governor, she should have recused herself from overseeing the petition verification.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Katie Hobbs is overseeing an initiative by school choice opponents to refer the universal expansion to the ballot. She is also running for governor, and her education plan calls ‘to oppose the universal expansion of school vouchers.’ She should have recused herself from overseeing this petition because of this conflict of interest,” DeAngelis said.
