Following rulings in Colorado and Maine disqualifying former President Donald Trump from the ballot under a Fourteenth Amendment clause, Arizona House Republicans are pushing a bold initiative to designate Trump as the winner of the 2024 presidential election regardless of voters’ decision.
State lawmakers in the GOP-controlled Legislature are pushing it as a resolution, not a bill, which would automatically declare Trump as the winner of the 2024 election in the state by offsetting the removal of a Republican candidate in two other states, Colorado and Maine. It will be heard by members of the House Election Committee on Wednesday.
In fact, some Republicans want to “change the manner of the presidential election for 2024,” according to the resolution. They also claim “the last two elections have been riddled with controversy and lawsuits with rules, forms and procedures of the election broken that has led to low public confidence in how elections are run.”
“To change the manner of the presidential election by appointing the eleven presidential electors to the republican primary winner to offset the removal of a republican candidate from the ballot in Colorado and Maine,” the resolution states. “That Governor (Katie) Hobbs sign the election reform measures listed below, and if not, the presidential electors be appointed to protect the 2024 presidential election from another mal-administered and illegally run election.”
As reported by KPNX’s Brahm Resnik, however, it’s important to note that the resolution would not carry any force of law because it is not a bill.
Meanwhile, Arizona state Rep. Rachel Jones, a Republican, is listed as the sponsor of the resolution. Jones has been described as a “MAGA acolyte” and has expressed support for Trump, according to the Phoenix New Times.
She went from a stay-at-home mom to being elected to the Arizona House, the Phoenix New Times wrote. Jones has expressed concerns about the integrity of the 2020 election results, with baseless claims, like Trump, that the election was stolen.
A vocal critic of the Democratic Arizona governor, Jones advocated for banning critical race theory in Arizona schools, a common talking point among GOP members across the nation.
Jones wrote in an X post on Jan. 2: “I will NOT move on like everything is o.k. I will NOT pretend like Fake Katie Hobbs is the legitimate governor of AZ. I will NOT standby [sic] while my favorite state is stolen by radical leftists. I will NOT allow this election to be stolen. #decertifynow.”
“History has recently favored the voters themselves voting for presidential electors,” according to the resolution. “The state has the full and complete authority to change the manner of the presidential election at any time and can take back the power to change its manner. The right of the legislature to resume the power of choosing the presidential electors at any time, which constitutes changing the manner of the election, can neither be taken away nor abdicated.”
As for the two states mentioned in Jones’ resolution, she wrote that Colorado and Maine have “removed a Republican candidate from the ballot and are unlawfully taking away the people’s voice to vote for whom they want to represent them” in the executive branch of government.
She added: “The supreme court of the United States has repeatedly agreed that the state legislature has the full and complete authority regarding presidential electors.”
The resolution comes amid the 2024 front-runner for the Republican presidential primary facing legal challenges in several states that seek to remove him from the ballot. Trump voiced his opposition to a recent appeals court decision denying him presidential immunity, clearing the path for a federal trial in the election interference case.
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that former presidents do not enjoy absolute immunity, challenging Trump’s assertion that his status shields him from federal charges related to allegations of orchestrating efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
