Photo Credit: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
Being a Democratic governor with a Republican-controlled state House and Senate is never an easy proposition, and Governor Katie Hobbs has found this out firsthand. Unable to control the agenda, she has mostly been relegated to one act of power: the veto pen. Now that the legislative session is over, we know how often she has used that power this year, and the answer is…a lot.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs finished the 2025 legislative session with a record-making flourish, vetoing her final batch of bills on July 1 and bringing her total rejections to 178 measures, an all-time high. The previous record? 123 vetoes, which was set by…Katie Hobbs in 2023. She is quickly becoming the Michael Phelps of the veto pen.
The governor’s most significant veto targeted Senate Bill 1001, which aimed to address Arizona’s notorious reputation for slow election returns. The state has consistently been among the last to finalize results, with delays plaguing both the 2022 gubernatorial race and the 2024 presidential election. The problem primarily stems from “late-early ballots” – mail-in ballots that voters drop off at polling places on Election Day. In 2024, there were about 265,000 such ballots, including over 210,000 in Maricopa County. These ballots require signature verification that can’t begin until after polls close.
Senator J.D. Mesnard’s solution would have allowed on-site ID verification for ballot drop-offs after Friday night, eliminating the post-election signature verification bottleneck. However, voters who chose traditional drop-off without ID verification would be removed from the active early voter list. Hobbs rejected this approach, arguing it would penalize voters who rely on family members or caregivers to deliver their ballots and can’t appear in person for ID checks.
The governor also vetoed Senator Wendy Rogers’ proposal to ban photo enforcement for speeding and red-light violations. Rogers argued that automated systems lack the human judgment of on-site officers and primarily serve as revenue generators for communities. Hobbs, who rejected identical legislation two years ago, maintained her position that photo enforcement is a valuable safety tool for local law enforcement.
Despite the vetoes, Hobbs expressed willingness to work with legislators next year on election improvements, emphasizing the need to balance speed with accessibility and security. With 178 vetoes this session, the governor has clearly established herself as a formidable check on the Republican-controlled legislature. That said, 2026 will bring a whole new set of challenges.
After all, next year will be an election year, and Hobbs will be making her case to keep her seat. Will blocking purported excesses of unchecked governance and defeating the worst impulses of one-party governance be enough of a case? There will be little else she can do.