Arizona voters will decide eight ballot measures in November that could reshape election rules, school spending, grocery taxes and other areas of state policy.
All eight of the propositions this year were referred by the GOP-controlled state Legislature, as opposed to being placed on the ballot through citizen-led initiatives. Full descriptions and arguments for and against each measure can be found on the secretary of state's website.
Since ballot measures circumvent the governor's desk, they are often used to send ideas directly to voters that may otherwise be vetoed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. If a majority of voters support a change, it becomes law.
Proposition 141: Car mileage tax ban
Proposition 141 asks voters whether the state should ban taxes based on vehicle mileage.
The measure was approved by lawmakers in 2025 as Senate Concurrent Resolution 1004.
It would bar laws that require vehicle mileage to be tracked without consent, but the measure includes exceptions for certain commercial and government-owned vehicles.
Proposition 141 pros and cons: Arguments against | Arguments in favor
Proposition 142: Expanded anti-DEI regulations
Proposition 142 would build on Arizona’s existing ban on affirmative action, which was approved by voters in 2010. Arizona bars the consideration of race, ethnicity and gender by the state government and the state’s public colleges. The latest proposal would expand that by banning schools and government agencies from requiring students and employees to endorse preferential treatment based on race. Diversity, equity and inclusion training would also be banned in schools and public agencies.
Examples of prohibited conduct would include requiring a job applicant or student to sign a statement supporting race-based DEI or allowing an agency to spend public funds on race-based DEI training.
Proposition 142 pros and cons: Arguments against | Arguments in favor
Latest coverage
- 'Our biggest funder': Arizona university leaders remove DEI mentions from state policies
- Unanimous vote: Queen Creek council bans DEI training for employees
Proposition 144: Election regulations
Proposition 144 would implement sweeping election reforms in Arizona by amending the state’s Constitution to require all voters to show government-issued identification before casting a ballot. That would apply to both in-person voting and voting by mail.
All Election Day voters would also be guaranteed the option to have their ballots tabulated at their polling locations. The measure would also ban all foreign nationals from spending money to influence Arizona elections, something already barred by federal law.
The measure would bar all noncitizens from registering to vote or voting in Arizona elections. All voters are currently required to attest under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens, and election officials frequently update voter rolls to make sure only eligible voters are registered.
Proposition 144 pros and cons: Arguments against | Arguments in favor
Latest coverage
- Election fears: Secretary of state wants you to know your mail-in ballot is safe in AZ
- Election official face-off: Secretary of state rivals spar over mail ballots, election integrity
- Partisan data: Mail-in voting hasn't swayed Arizona's GOP-leaning election trends
Proposition 316: Grocery tax restrictions
Proposition 316 would retroactively bar municipalities from creating or increasing grocery taxes from July 2025 through 2027. After that point, cities and towns would need to obtain voter approval before they could adopt or increase a grocery tax. The tax would not be allowed to exceed 2% under the measure. More than a dozen municipalities across Arizona charge a grocery tax, but some major cities like Phoenix and Tucson do not.
Proposition 316 pros and cons: Arguments against | Arguments in favor
Latest coverage
- Budget woes: South Tucson needs a supermarket. It's betting on a grocery tax cut
Proposition 317: Drug cartels as terrorist organizations
Proposition 317 would define drug cartels in Arizona law and classify them as terrorist organizations. Part of the measure would direct the Arizona Department of Homeland Security to do everything within its authority to address the threats posed by drug cartels.
Proposition 317 pros and cons: Arguments against | Arguments in favor
Latest coverage
- Power vacuum: Battle for drug trade in Mexico may soon spur more violence
- Feds at the border: US targeting cartel 'plaza bosses' in the fight against fentanyl
- Executive order: Gov. Katie Hobbs launches task force to combat cartels in Arizona border counties
Proposition 318: Transgender student athlete ban
Proposition 318 would require all Arizona schools to designate sports teams as three categories: male, female or coed. It strictly defines a person's sex as the “biological status as male or female as recorded at birth on the individual’s original birth certificate." Schools would be prohibited from opening up girls’ sports to anyone who doesn’t align with that definition.
The ballot measure would go beyond sports, with proposed rules that would stop schools from allowing students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that don’t align with their sex as it’s defined in the measure.
If passed, student-athletes would be allowed to sue their own school district if district leaders don’t abide by the law.
A similar law passed in 2022 and became embroiled in a legal battle that went to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The U.S. Supreme Court later vacated the appeals court ruling and asked the lower court to reconsider its decision. Days later, the one remaining student in the lawsuit agreed to dismiss her challenge.
Proposition 318 pros and cons: Arguments against | Arguments in favor
Latest coverage
- Lawsuit ended: Transgender student athlete drops federal case against Arizona ban
- 'It's not about them': Arizona lawmaker says trans athletes' stories distract from main issue
Proposition 319: Photo-radar enforcement restrictions
Proposition 319 would put major restrictions on cities’ use of photo-radar systems designed to enforce traffic laws. If passed, state and local authorities wouldn’t be allowed to install or use new photo enforcement systems to track people who violate traffic laws, including speed limits. Cities with systems already in place by the end of 2026 would only be allowed to use them if the systems were approved by voters every 10 years.
Proposition 319 pros and cons: Arguments against | Arguments in favor
Latest coverage
- Snapshot: Photo radar cameras catch 30K speeding drivers in Phoenix
- Ban reconsidered: Arizona lawmakers to consider photo radar ban. Will it become law?
Proposition 320: School spending regulations
Proposition 320 would require all school districts in Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties, as well as districts with more than 7,500 students, to devote at least 60% of their spending to direct instructional expenses. If a district isn’t hitting that threshold, it would be required to raise classroom spending by 0.5% each year until it is.
Districts that do not comply with the regulation would face decreased funding from the state Classroom Site Fund, with opportunities for short-term waivers that the superintendent of public instruction could authorize. If passed by voters, the regulations would kick in at the start of the 2027-28 fiscal year.
Proposition 320 pros and cons: Arguments against | Arguments in favor
Latest coverage
- What's at stake: How much AZ schools spend in classrooms, and what Proposition 320 would change
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What Arizona voters should know about all 8 propositions
