Arizona primary could move up 2 weeks under bipartisan legislation
Arizona could permanently move up its state primary election date under an advancing legislative proposal that would also give voters more time to fix signature problems on early ballots and codify where party observers may watch election activity.
The Arizona House voted unanimously Monday to pass the legislation, which would move the primary from the first Tuesday in August to the second-to-last Tuesday in July. That would ensure that election officials can meet federally mandated deadlines to send out general election ballots to military and overseas voters, even if a statewide recount delays the finalization of the primary results.
If the bill also passes the Arizona Senate and is signed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, the 2026 primary election date would move from Aug. 4 to July 21.
This is the second time in recent years that lawmakers have sought to adjust the state’s election timeline on short notice. Arizona faced similar timing challenges in 2024, and after months of fraught negotiations, the state moved that year’s primary election ahead by a week. It also made a number of smaller, temporary changes, such as compressing the period for voters to fix missing and mismatched signatures on early ballots, a process known as ballot curing.
https://www.votebeat.org/arizona/2026/02/04/2026-primary-election-date-move-earlier-legislature-bill-kolodin-hobbs/