As elected members of the Arizona Senate, we are deeply alarmed how often the Senate Republican caucus reveals how little they understand about our nation’s government.
The U.S. Constitution has mandated a census count since 1790. The census counts people — all people, regardless of their citizenship status. The count is used, not only for drawing Congressional and legislative maps, but to ensure states have the needed resources to provide for those who live there.
Despite the clarity of this language and the established history of the census, State Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 1022 (SCR1022), a ballot referral that would require the state of Arizona, every decade, to conduct an unnecessary and duplicative census of only U.S. citizens in Arizona.
Republicans have proposed a duplicative state census effort — and an entirely unnecessary ballot referral — to both depress participation in the federal census and skew the state redistricting process in their favor. Please understand this: The Arizona Freedom Caucus is leading the charge to redraw our legislative maps to hand pick the voters they want, while stirring up further hate for undocumented immigrants to hide their true intent.
If Senate Republicans are truly upset that the U.S. Census Bureau under the first Trump administration mismanaged its duties and left Arizona with less federal funding and underrepresented in Congress, as they stated while the bill moved through the Senate, we suggest they put their money where their mouth is — take it up with the current Trump administration and leave Arizona voters alone.
However, the Republican majority prefers to burden voters with irresponsible and unworkable proposals like this one that will only further exacerbate our strained state resources.
With a clear-eyed view of the increasingly undemocratic antics of the majority party, Arizona voters should brace for another multiple page ballot in 2026. The Senate Republican caucus, rather than conduct a simple google search or open a high school history textbook, are giddy to send SCR1022 to the voters with the end goal of ensuring the legislature wields the power to gerrymander legislative districts for their own political benefit.
It cost nearly $14 billion to conduct the last nationwide census. Based on Arizona’s population, the state would need to spend a little under $300 million to complete its own census, not even accounting for the fact that Arizona does not have the pre-existing infrastructure of the U.S. Census Bureau. The moderate $158 million estimated in the fiscal note is worrying enough, as this stunt would gut the voter-created Citizens Clean Elections Fund and still not cover the true cost, passing onto the taxpayer another do-nothing Republican pet project.
Remember the Senate Republican election “audit” quagmire of 2021? That misguided effort also ran millions of dollars more than the initial estimate and was conducted by a wholly untrustworthy and inexperienced organization selected by the Arizona Senate called Cyber Ninjas.
This duplicative ballot proposal similarly allows the Legislature to designate who will conduct this unnecessary state census. Do you trust them, the same body that thought Cyber Ninjas were qualified to audit the 2020 election, to pick who would come knock at your door?
Arizona cannot afford — literally or legislatively — the lack of civic understanding Republicans have when it comes to running a state, running a country, or running a census.
Editor’s note: State Senate Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan, D-Tucson represents Legislative District 18. State Sen. Lauren Kuby, D-Tempe represents LD8. Both are members of the Senate Government Committee. Please send your comments to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
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