EDS: UPDATES previous version with revised graf 6, adds new graf 22, to reflect response from Resolution Copper.

• Slug: BC-CNS-Resolution Reversal,890.
• 2 file phot0s available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Haley Smilow
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – A federal court said Thursday that it will take another look at claims that the proposed Resolution Copper mine should be delayed because it sits on land sacred to the Apache and would violate their religious rights.

The announcement by the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sets aside – for now – two previous federal court rulings that said the mine would not infringe on tribal members’ right to worship, even though it would destroy Oak Flat – reasoning one judge called “flawed” and “absurd” in a blistering dissent. Continue reading “Appeals court gives Resolution Copper mine opponents another chance”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Ballot Balance,730.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Haley Smilow
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Arizona election officials said Thursday there were still more than 500,000 ballots to be counted from Tuesday’s elections, but they insisted they are still on schedule to complete the count.

Even if that schedule is not as fast as some would like.

With a number of high-profile races still too close to call, interest in the vote counting is high. But as of late Thursday afternoon, the secretary of state’s office said there were 573,533 uncounted ballots, compared more than to 1.97 million that had been tallied. Continue reading “Elections officials: 500,000 ballots still out, but vote count on track”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Indigenous Foster,990.
• 4 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Ryan Knappenberger
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Over the course of three hours Wednesday, the Supreme Court grappled with whether a law meant to keep Indigenous children with Native American families should be overturned as racist and unconstitutional, as critics charge.

Tribal leaders called the debate over the fate of the Indian Child Welfare Act “agonizing,” and said that the possibility of overturning the 44-year-old law would echo centuries of “efforts by this country to stamp out our culture.”

“We will not go back to a time when our children were stolen and taken away from their homes, we will not go back to a time when we lost voice and our power to protect our families,” said Charles Martin, chairman of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, at a rally outside the court Wednesday. Continue reading “Justices grapple with legality of Indian Child Welfare Act in marathon hearing”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Proposition 130, 610.
• Photo available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Tristan Richards
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – It’s been 32 years since disabled veterans in Arizona got the same break on their property taxes that widows, widowers and disabled individuals do.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Kathy Lowrey Gallowitz thinks it’s past time to change that, which is why she’s supporting Proposition 130.

“I’m an Air Force veteran and the primary reason I’m supporting it is because it offers disabled veterans a reduction in their property taxes,” said Gallowitz, founder and CEO of the veteran-focused consulting firm Vanguard Veteran. “This proposition also helps with widows and other certain people with disabilities.” Continue reading “Prop 130 could restore long-defunct property tax break for veterans”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Supreme Protest,690.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Haley Smilow
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – A Tucson woman was one of three people arrested Wednesday after they disrupted a Supreme Court hearing with a protest over the court’s decision to reverse its 1973 ruling that had recognized a right to an abortion.

Rolande Baker said the protest, which momentarily halted arguments in an unrelated banking case, was timed to fall right before the elections so that women and abortion-rights activists would be moved to express their anger at the ballot box. Continue reading “Tucson woman arrested in abortion-rights protest during Supreme Court hearing”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Proposition 211, 780.
• Photo available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Emilee Miranda
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Give $50 to a political candidate and, under the current law in Arizona, your name, home address and employer must be reported to the secretary of state’s office.

Give $5,000 – or more – to an independent organization that is working to support or oppose that same candidate and you can do so in secret.

That doesn’t make sense to Terry Goddard.

That’s why Goddard, a former Arizona attorney general, is backing Proposition 211, the “Voters Right to Know Act” that would require major funders of independent advertising campaigns to identify themselves and name their donors. Continue reading “After several tries, Prop 211 backers hope to shine a light on ‘dark money’”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Dropbox Limits,840.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Ryan Knappenberger
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – A federal judge set new limits on groups watching ballot drop boxes, ordering them to stop confronting and filming voters, to stop carrying weapons near the boxes and to correct voting misinformation on their social media.

The temporary restraining order late Tuesday from U.S. District Judge Michael Liburdi came just days after he rejected a request from voters’ groups to ban the monitors entirely, saying they had a First Amendment right to watch the drop boxes. Continue reading “Judge sets limits on drop-box watchers, banning weapons, confrontation”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Senate Shakeup,830.
• 4 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Tristan Richards
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Libertarian Senate nominee Marc Victor withdrew from the race Tuesday and endorsed GOP candidate Blake Masters, shaking up a race that was already tightening just a week before Election Day.

Political experts say the endorsement may give Masters a bump, but will not not guarantee a win against incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in one of the country’s most expensive, closely watched races, which could be key to determining which party controls the Senate. Continue reading “Libertarian nominee Victor drops out of Senate race, backs GOP’s Masters”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Proposition 129, 960.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Ryan Knappenberger
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Proposition 129 asks just one question: Whether or not all future ballot initiatives should ask just one question.

The proposition would amend the Arizona Constitution to require that any ballot initiative be limited to just one subject, a move supporters say will make the process more accessible for voters by simplifying what could be an unwieldy issue.

“It would make it a lot clearer for voters and it would align the initiative process more closely with what has generally worked,” said Suzanne Kinney, CEO and president of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association’s Arizona chapter.

But critics see it as another attempt, along with propositions 128 and 132, to increase the Legislature’s power at the expense of voters this fall. Continue reading “Single and loving it?: Prop 129 would limit ballot measures to one subject”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Dropbox Ruling,860.
• Photo available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Ryan Knappenberger
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – A federal judge Friday refused to block groups that are monitoring ballot drop boxes, saying voters who complained of intimidation had not shown that the watchers posed a “true threat” to their voting rights.

U.S. District Judge Michael Liburdi said he struggled to find a way to help voters who are “legitimately alarmed by the observers filming” at the drop boxes, but he could not do so without violating the First Amendment rights of the box watchers. Continue reading “Judge: Ballot drop-box watchers are not a ‘true threat,’ cannot be blocked”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Ward Subpoena,820.
• Photo available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Tori Gantz
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has granted a brief reprieve to Arizona GOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward on a subpoena to turn over her phone records to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Justice Elena Kagan late Wednesday stayed a lower court’s ruling until at least Friday, when she ordered the committee to reply to Ward’s claims that a subpoena of her phone records violates her free association rights.

In her request for an administrative stay, Ward argued that the subpoena from the House Select Committee Investigating the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol was not meant to find evidence about the attack, but merely to target Republicans whose names would show up in her phone and who would be probed by committee investigators. Continue reading “Supreme Court delays order that Ward give phone records to Jan. 6 panel”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Watcher Watch,750.
• File photo, video story available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Ryan Knappenberger
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The Maricopa County sheriff said he plans to step up security at voting locations in the run-up to Election Day, following more reports of individuals – in some cases armed – filming and tailing voters at ballot drop boxes.

Sheriff Paul Penzone said those groups are often within their rights to watch a ballot drop box and that police can only do so much if the watchers are not causing a disturbance. But Penzone said voters can still safely drop off ballots, as deputies will be on alert.

“We want to have a presence that reminds people to behave well,” Penzone said of the drop box watchers. “Just pretend like everywhere you go there’s someone watching you and you’ll behave better.” Continue reading “Police promise protection as more reports of ballot box watchers come in”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Pot Protest,710.
• 3 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Tori Gantz
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Students from across the country rallied outside the White House Monday to demand that President Joe Biden deliver on a campaign promise to release prisoners convicted of marijuana possession.

The protest came just weeks after the president unveiled a plan to pardon those with federal convictions for cannabis possession, and directed the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to investigate the possibility of downgrading marijuana on the list of illegal drugs. Continue reading “Protesters push Biden on pledge to pardon pot possession convictions”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Proposition 132, 680.
• Photo available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Emilee Miranda
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – When Arizona voters approved a measure in 2020 that would have increased school funding by raising income taxes on higher earners, they did so by a comfortable 52-48% margin.

That was too comfortable for supporters of Proposition 132 on this fall’s ballot, which would require any initiative that raises taxes to get approved by at least 60% of voters to pass. Continue reading “Prop 132 called both rational tax safeguard, anti-democratic power play”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Kelly Masters,740.
• 4 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Tristan Richards
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly continued to widen his fundraising lead over GOP challenger Blake Masters, who still trailed the incumbent despite heavy spending on Masters’ behalf by outside conservative groups.

Kelly, a Democrat, had raised nearly $75.5 million as of Sept. 30, and still had $13.2 million on hand, according to his most recent Federal Election Commission reports. Masters reported raising $9.9 million in the same period, with $2.8 million in the bank.

Libertarian Senate nominee Marc J. Victor was a distant third, reporting that he had raised $129,103 with $1,606 on hand at the end of the third quarter. Continue reading “Kelly continues to raise ‘like a maniac,’ dwarfing Masters in Senate race”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Arizona Audience,690
• 4 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Ryan Knappenberger and Tori Gantz
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Arizona local, tribal and labor leaders were at the White House Friday to hear administration officials highlight the billions in recent federal funding that is coming to states for everything from roads to water to broadband.

A baker’s dozen of Arizona officials joined leaders from Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado for the half-day “Communities in Action” event, where administration officials applauded the “historic investments” – and attendees applauded right back. Continue reading “Arizona leaders join others at White House for forum on federal funds”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Senate Debate,840
• 5 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Shane Brennan
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The Arizona candidates for U.S. Senate sparred on the debate stage Thursday night with border security, abortion rights and elections integrity dominating the hour-long debate.

Incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., GOP challenger Blake Masters, and Libertarian Marc Victor gathered at Arizona PBS in downtown Phoenix for the live debate, which garnered national attention and was sponsored by the Clean Elections Commission. Continue reading “Mark Kelly and Blake Masters clash on immigration, abortion in U.S. Senate debate”

• Slug: BC-CNS-DACA Saga,1020
• Photo available (thumbnail, caption below)

By Emilee Miranda and Ryan Knappenberger
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that DACA, the deferred deportation program for young migrants, was unlawfully created in 2012 but that protection for current DACA recipients can continue for now.

The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest in the 10-year legal odyssey of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and it comes as the Department of Homeland Security unveils new rules it hopes can save the program. Continue reading “DACA suffers another court setback, but program remains in place for now”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Vouchers Safe,980
• 2 file photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Tori Gantz and Ryan Knappenberger
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The secretary of state’s office is still counting, but it had seen enough by Friday to say that a petition drive to block expansion of the state’s school voucher program fell short of the required signatures.

The announcement by Secretary of State Katie Hobbs that Save Our Schools Arizona failed to collect the 118,823 signatures needed, means that HB 2853 can take effect. That made Friday a “joyous day” for supporters of the universal Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. Continue reading “Petition to block voucher law falls short; application deadline extended”