New AZ Budget Allows Presidential Primary Opt-Out for State Parties

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) signed HB 2751 into Law. Normally, the way State Budgets intervene in the Presidential Nomination process is through the Funding, or Lack of, State Government-run Primaries.

But this Budget Bill in Arizona does Not clearly Draw that line.

Democrats will have a Primary next year, so the State will Pay for that Election, but that Primary Election will Not include a Republican Presidential Preference Vote.

In Section 16-241, Arizona Revised Statutes, a political party that is eligible to participate in the 2020 presidential preference election pursuant to section 16-244, Arizona Revised Statutes, may opt out of participating in the presidential preference election by sending a written notice to the secretary of state on or before September 16, 2019. If a political party opts out of participating in the presidential preference election, the secretary of state shall notify each county recorder and officer in charge of elections and the clerk of each county board of supervisors not later than five business days after receiving the written notice from the political party that the 2020 presidential preference election for that party is canceled.

This Clause now gives State Republicans the Discretion to repeat what the Party did the last time an Incumbent Republican Presidential was up for Reelection in 2004.

They Canceled the Republican Presidential Primary. This is not something, then, that is unique to the Broader Republican Party Defense of President Trump. Instead, it is in line with what other States, Kansas and South Carolina among them, are doing and have done in the past, scale Operations back when an Incumbent is up for Reelection.

Arizona Republicans now have until the middle of September to make a Decision about whether they will Opt-Out of the Presidential Primary, although the Party has already telegraphed where this is headed. September is Noteworthy because that is just before the Republican National Committee (RNC) Deadline to Finalize State-Level Delegate Selection Processes on October 1st. That will be a busy time as many States will be Finalizing Plans either at State Conventions or in State Central Committee Meetings.

The State Democrats in the same way during Incumbent Democratic Presidential Reelection cycles in 1996 and 2012.










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