In the politics of the United States,the process of initiatives and referendums allow citizens of many U.S. states to place legislation on the ballot for a referendum or popular vote,either enacting new legislation,or voting down existing legislation. Citizens,or an organization,might start a popular initiative to gather a predetermined number of signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot. The measure is placed on the ballot for the referendum,or actual vote.
The Arizona State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house,the House of Representatives,and an upper house,the Senate. Composed of 90 legislators,the state legislature meets in the Capitol Complex in the state capital of Phoenix. Created by the Arizona Constitution upon statehood in 1912,the Arizona State Legislature met biennially until 1950. Since then they meet annually.
The legality of abortion in the United States and the various restrictions imposed on the procedure vary significantly,depending on the laws of each state or other jurisdiction,although there is no uniform federal law. Some states prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy,with few exceptions;others permit it up to a certain point in a woman's pregnancy,while some allow abortion throughout a woman's pregnancy. In states where abortion is legal,several classes of restrictions on the procedure may exist,such as parental consent or notification laws,requirements that patients be shown an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion,mandatory waiting periods,and counseling requirements.
Thomas Ray "T. J." Shope Jr. is an American Republican politician and businessman who has been a member of the Arizona Legislature from the 16th Legislative District,which covers central and eastern Pinal County and southern Gila County. First elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2012,he was a member of the House from January 2013 to January 2021;in the latter part of his time in the state House,he was Speaker Pro Tempore. Shope was elected to the Arizona State Senate in November 2020,and took office in January 2021.
Kelly Townsend is an American author,childbirth educator and birth doula who was a Republican politician. She was a member of the Arizona Senate representing District 16 from 2021 to 2023,and previously was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021,acting as Majority Whip from 2017 to 2018.
Javan Daniel "J. D." Mesnard is an American politician and a Republican member of the Arizona Senate representing District 13 since 2023. He previously represented District 17 from 2019 to 2023.
Nancy K. Barto is an American politician and a former Republican member of the Arizona State Senate from 2021 to 2023. She previously served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021 and the Arizona Senate representing District 15 from 2013 to 2019. Barto served consecutively in the Arizona State Legislature from January 2007 until January 10,2011,in the Arizona House of Representatives District 7 seat,then in the Arizona Senate in the District 7 seat from January 10,2011,until January 14,2013.
Bill Dean is an American politician serving as the state representative for the 74th District of the Ohio House of Representatives. He is a Republican. The district includes Madison County as well as portions of Clark County and Greene County.
Anthony Kern is an American politician and a Republican member of the Arizona Senate,representing District 27 since 2023. He previously represented District 20 in the State House of Representatives from January 5,2015,to January 11,2021.
Venden "Vince" Leach is an American politician from Arizona. A Republican,he was a member of the Arizona State Senate from 2019 to 2023,representing District 11. From 2015 to 2019,he was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives representing District 11. Leach won the race for Arizona state senate from Legislative District 17 in the 2024 Arizona Senate election.
Benjamin Cornel Toma is a Romanian-American politician serving as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives for the 27th district. Elected in November 2016,he assumed office in January 2017. He was selected to be Speaker of the House in 2022,taking office in 2023. From 2021 to 2023,Toma served as majority leader of the Arizona House.
Arizona House Bill 2005 is state-level legislation introduced in the Arizona State Legislature and signed into law in 2018.
Frank Carroll is an American politician and a Republican member of the Arizona Senate representing District 28 since January 9,2023. He was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2019 to 2023,representing House District 22. Carroll was first elected in 2018 to succeed State Representative David Livingston,who instead ran for State Senate.
Abortion in Arizona is legal up the point of fetal viability as a result of Arizona Proposition 139 being put into the Arizona state constitution.
Jacqueline Parker is an American politician who has served as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 16th legislative district since 2021. She is a member of the Republican Party.
Following the 2020 United States presidential election and the unsuccessful attempts by Donald Trump and various other Republican officials to overturn it,Republican lawmakers initiated a sweeping effort to make voting laws more restrictive within several states across the country. According to the Brennan Center for Justice,as of October 4,2021,more than 425 bills that would restrict voting access have been introduced in 49 states—with 33 of these bills enacted across 19 states so far. The bills are largely centered around limiting mail-in voting,strengthening voter ID laws,shortening early voting,eliminating automatic and same-day voter registration,curbing the use of ballot drop boxes,and allowing for increased purging of voter rolls. Republicans in at least eight states have also introduced bills that would give lawmakers greater power over election administration after they were unsuccessful in their attempts to overturn election results in swing states won by Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 election. The efforts garnered press attention and public outrage from Democrats,and by 2023 Republicans had adopted a more "under the radar" approach to achieve their goals.
The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol initiative,listed on the ballot as Issue 2,is a ballot initiative for legalization of cannabis in the U.S. state of Ohio that was passed by voters on November 7,2023.
The 2022 Kansas abortion referendum was a rejected legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the Kansas Constitution that appeared on the ballot on August 2,2022,alongside primary elections for statewide offices,with early voting from July 13. If enacted,the amendment would have declared that the Kansas Constitution does not guarantee a right to abortion,giving the Kansas state government power to prosecute individuals involved in abortions,and further declared that the Kansas government is not required to fund abortions.
Austin Smith is an American politician. He has been a member of the 29th district of the Arizona House of Representatives,alongside Steve Montenegro,since 2023. In April 2024 he withdrew his bid for a second term and resigned as a senior director of Turning Point Action amid allegations he had forged voter signatures on election documents.
Initiative 128 was a ballot initiative that appeared on the ballot on November 5,2024,to establish in the Constitution of Montana a right to abortion up to fetal viability. The initiative was approved by 58 percent of voters.
