Key Points:

• Voters approved most GOP-backed ballot measures, even as they gave Democrats big statewide wins

• Approved measures included those related to transgender students, photo radar devices and new taxes on groceries.

• Rejected measures included bans on “DEI” training in state agencies, a new school funding requirement and a voter ID plan that could have targeted mail voting

PHOENIX — Arizona voters approved most of the ballot measures Republican lawmakers put on the ballot, even as they handed control of the House and Senate to Democrats.

The eight propositions covered a wide range of issues, from transgender students’ access to school facilities and photo radar enforcement to local sales taxes and voting requirements. But voters rejected several measures entangled in broader political fights over education funding, early voting, and the role of government.

One of the most widely approved measures, Proposition 318, prohibits schools from allowing students to use restrooms, locker rooms, showers and other private facilities designated for the opposite biological sex. It defines biological sex as the sex “recorded at birth on the individual’s original birth certificate.”

Sponsors dubbed it the “Protect Girls Sports in Arizona Act.” The measure, which had nearly 59% of the vote as of Thursday afternoon, extends restrictions Republican lawmakers enacted in 2022, when they barred transgender students from competing on school sports teams designated for their gender identity. That law specifically prohibits students born male from playing on girls’ teams.

Photo radar also proved particularly unpopular with voters.

Proposition 319 prohibits cities and towns that don’t already use cameras to enforce speed limits and red-light laws from starting such programs. Communities that already have photo radar must obtain voter approval to renew existing contracts.

The measure does not affect Flock or other license plate-reading systems. Lawmakers rejected significant new restrictions on those cameras last year but acknowledged the need for some safeguards.

Most large Arizona cities don’t impose sales taxes on food. But many smaller communities build their budgets around the revenues. Proposition 316, which had won more than 61% of the vote as of Thursday afternoon, will put that under greater scrutiny.

The measure prohibits communities without such a tax from enacting one before June 30, 2027. After that, any new levy will require local voter approval. Communities that already tax groceries also will be prohibited from making changes before that date. Any subsequent rate increase will require voter approval, and the tax could not exceed 2%.

Proposition 141, leading by a narrow margin as of Thursday afternoon, would prohibit state and local governments from enacting taxes or fees based on the number of miles a person drives. It would also prohibit government tracking of miles traveled without the driver’s consent.

But the measure also could complicate efforts to ensure electric vehicle owners contribute to road construction and maintenance. Unlike drivers of gasoline-powered vehicles, electric vehicle owners don’t pay the state’s 18-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax, a major source of road funding.

Voters also approved Proposition 317, which designates drug cartels as terrorist organizations and requires the state Department of Homeland Security to do everything in its power to address the threats they pose.

Rejected measures

Voters also rejected several measures heavily pushed by the Republican lawmakers.

Proposition 320 would have required school districts in the state’s three largest counties — and larger districts elsewhere — to put at least 60 cents of every dollar they got into what is considered “direct instructional expenses.”

Proponents argued that schools were spending too much money on everything but what directly affects students, including administration. But opponents said that could have crippled districts facing rising electricity costs to heat and cool buildings and diesel costs to keep school buses on the road. 

They also noted that Arizona continues to rank near last nationally in per-student spending, something that also translates into larger-than-average class sizes.

Republicans put Prop 320 on the ballot in the last hours of the legislative session after they couldn’t convince the Arizona Education Association and Save Our Schools to drop their plan to ask voters to curb Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. 

Voters also rejected Proposition 144, which sought to require all voters to present identification before casting a ballot, including by mail. Yet it never explained how that would work, though Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, promised that future legislators would work it out.

Opponents, however, argued that this was a way of killing early voting — something that some Republicans have claimed leads to cheating — despite the fact that it is used by nearly 90% of Arizonans. Kolodin filed suit on behalf of the Arizona Republican Party several years ago, asking courts to declare voting by mail unconstitutional.

Voters rejected Proposition 142 that would have expanded existing constitutional prohibitions against “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs and requirements, mainly at state universities.