Your 2024 Ballot: A Guide to Voting on Arizona Judges
Like any branch of government, Arizona’s judiciary plays a critical role in supporting public education — and in upholding Arizona’s Constitution, which requires the legislature to maintain a “general and uniform” public education system. Arizonans’ unique ability to choose whether or not to retain judges, as well as a question on this year’s ballot on whether we should continue to have that right, carry profound consequences for the future of public schools in our state.
Arizona’s courts are increasingly being called upon to resolve controversial issues regarding public education. From the ongoing school facilities lawsuit that seeks to force Arizona’s state lawmakers to fulfill their constitutional mandate to fund schools, to the decision that invalidated voter-approved school funding measure Prop 208 at the behest of extremist, anti-public education groups, the courts shape the landscape of public education funding in our state.
Judges and Their Role for Public Schools
Like any public body, the judiciary is not neutral. Judges are human beings with widely varied perspectives and prior experience, which they bring into their courtrooms to create the frame through which they interpret the law on behalf of Arizona’s 1.1 million public school children.
The stakes are high. For example, the judiciary can choose to mandate a course correction when the state legislature fails to provide adequate funding for public schools, or it can allow pro-voucher groups to pursue their anti-public school policy objectives unchecked.
Arizona Supreme Court
Voters currently possess the right to weigh in on the judges whose decisions help shape our lives, thanks to a voter-approved initiative championed by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in 1974 — 50 years ago. This year, Arizona voters will choose whether to retain Justices Clint Bolick and Kathryn Hackett King. Both justices have shown evidence of ideological bias as members of Leonard Leo’s Federalist Society and have a history of decisions that carry dangerous implications for public education. Both were appointed by then-Governor Doug Ducey, who expanded the court in 2016 from a 5- to a 7-member bench against the wishes of every sitting judge.
Decisions harmful to public education funding. In 2022, Justices Bolick and King joined a decision to toss a referendum on former Gov. Doug Ducey’s “flat tax” from the ballot after Save Our Schools Arizona, the Arizona Education Association, Stand for Children Arizona, and other education advocates gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures to give Arizona voters an opportunity to weigh in on the measure. Five justices sided with Bolick’s former Goldwater Institute, which argued that tax measures are “immune from repeal by voters.” Now, the flat tax has created a $1.8 billion budget deficit, driving the continued underfunding of Arizona’s public schools (which remain ranked 50th in the nation for funding).
Ideological memberships and behavior. Both Justices Bolick and King are members of The Federalist Society, which promotes appointment of conservative and libertarian judges in order to influence the ideological direction of courts nationwide. In 2024, King attended a conference at the Georgetown Center for the Constitution, which focuses on constitutional originalism, one of the guises used to justify ideologically biased ultra-conservative decisions. Bolick has participated in six Federalist Society speaking engagements in 2024 alone.
Biased decisions. In 2021, Justice Bolick decided to overrule a lower court’s decision on Prop 208, a major 2021 citizen-powered initiative to tax wealthier Arizonans to provide more than $800 million in funding to public education. The ruling that it was likely “unconstitutional” abandoned the court’s own precedent regarding severability to reach the desired outcome, as noted by Justice Ann Timmer in her dissent, granting lawmakers more power to undermine voter-approved measures they disapprove of. A majority of Arizona voters approved Prop 208 in November 2020, but the $800 million in funding has never gone to Arizona classrooms, as the Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling overturned a lower Court’s decision.
Replacement process. If Arizona voters choose not to retain these justices, current Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs will be tasked with making two appointments to the Arizona Supreme Court in January 2025. This is in addition to an appointment Hobbs will make to replace Justice Robert Brutinel, who recently announced his retirement from the bench.
Prop 137: Judicial Retention
Proposition 137. Also this November, Arizonans will get a chance to weigh in on Prop 137. This measure put on the ballot by the Arizona legislature would eliminate voters’ ability to weigh in on judges through retention elections, removing this accountability measure from the state Constitution.
Prop 137 would end the process that Sandra Day O’Connor championed during her service in the Arizona Senate in the 1970s and actively promoted throughout her life. A major supporter of judicial merit selection, O’Connor advocated for retention elections, in which voters weigh in on judges every four to six years in lieu of partisan elections. Her thinking was that this public scrutiny would encourage judges to remain independent and impartial. This system, which has been in place for 50 years, allows Arizonans a voice in holding the judiciary publicly accountable in cases of ideological bias or values that are grossly out of step with public sentiment.
Arizona voters’ right to retain or dismiss judges acts as a check and balance on our government. Judicial retention allows us to evaluate judicial performance and provides meaningful public accountability over judges, who are appointed by a partisan politician (our governor). Prop 137 would not only void that right, but also would void the results of this November’s judicial retention election — meaning that, if voters approve Prop 137, all judges on the ballot would remain in office, even if voters also chose not to retain them.
Don’t Forget to Vote!
Arizona kids are counting on us to support their schools, so don’t forget to mail back your ballot as soon as possible. All mail-in ballots must be put in the mail by October 29 — otherwise, you’ll have to return your ballot to a drop box or early vote center before or on Election Day, November 5.
An equitable, free and accessible public education system is essential to the survival of our democracy. And public education, in turn, hinges on the powers of our state’s judiciary. We urge every Arizona voter to make a fully informed decision and to vote every part of their ballot, from top to bottom, to preserve and strengthen the public schools that the vast majority of Arizona families choose.