2026 Arizona General Election Voter Guide

About the Humane Voters of Arizona General Election Voter Guide

Humane Voters of Arizona (HVA) is an all-volunteer, non-partisan organization dedicated to electing legislators and candidates who will fight for stronger protections for animals and oppose legislation that weakens Arizona’s animal cruelty laws and other humane policies.

HVA Endorsement Process

All endorsements are approved by the HVA Board of Directors and Election Team. They are based primarily on candidates’ voting records during the past two legislative sessions, their leadership and actions on animal protection issues, and their stated positions as reflected in candidate surveys and other public statements. We do not endorse candidates who lack a legislative record and have not provided written responses or other meaningful information about their positions. A candidate’s voting record, when available, always carries greater weight than survey responses when determining endorsements.

Our website also includes candidate survey responses, which we encourage every voter to review. We recognize candidates who provide thoughtful, substantive responses that demonstrate a strong understanding of animal protection issues, and we encourage voters to contact candidates directly if they have questions.

While voting records and survey responses are our primary criteria, HVA may also consider other relevant factors that reflect a candidate’s likely commitment to advancing animal protection. These factors could include community efforts, speaking out on animal-related measures, or providing other help on legislation. As a result, some endorsed candidates may not have perfect voting records but are likely to be stronger advocates for animals than their opponents.

In some legislative districts, we endorse multiple candidates to reflect that several individuals demonstrate a commitment to animal protection.

In races where HVA has not made an endorsement, we encourage voters to review incumbent legislative scorecards, former legislators’ voting records, and candidate survey responses, all of which are available on our website.

Be Strategic with Your Vote

Arizona voters elect two House of Representatives candidates from each legislative district. In districts where HVA endorses only one House candidate, we encourage supporters to consider casting a single vote for that candidate rather than voting for two candidates. Known as “single-shot voting,” this strategy can maximize the endorsed candidate’s chances of election by avoiding vote dilution.

Be a Voice for Arizona’s Animals

One of the easiest, yet most important way to help animals is to elect legislators who support animal protection. Please vote, share this voter guide with fellow animal advocates, and encourage others to participate. If you’re unsure which legislative district you live in or need election information, visit Arizona.Vote.

Candidates who will stand up for animals also need your support. Please consider volunteering for endorsed candidates’ campaigns. To get involved, contact us at info@humanevotersaz.org.

Arizona State Senate

Arizona House of Representatives

Key

LD = Legislative District
(i) = Incumbent
* = Responded to HVA Questionnaire

Please Note: HVA has not endorsed candidates in all legislative districts.

In legislative races where there are no HVA endorsements, please refer to legislative reports (for incumbents and former legislators) and candidate survey responses.

If you have questions or comments, please contact us at info@humanevotersaz.org.

Statewide Candidate Recommendations

Arizona Governor

Katie Hobbs

Electing a governor that supports animal protection is crucial to getting beneficial bills signed into law and damaging measures vetoed. The governor also appoints leaders of state agencies and members of commissions including Arizona Game & Fish. These appointments can have a significant effect on animals throughout Arizona. Katie Hobbs has proven to be a dedicated advocate for animals. In 2026 she vetoed several measures detrimental to wildlfe and our citizen initiative process. She has a 100 percent record on protecting animals and citizen initiative rights over her eight years serving in the Legislature and four years as Governor. Read Katie Hobbs’ Record on Animal Protection.

Andy Biggs has consistently opposed animal protection measures throughout his legislative career. Between 2017 and 2025, the Humane World Action Fund (HWAF) awarded him a zero on its annual scorecard for eight out of nine years, with his only exception being a score of 29 in 2018. As Arizona Senate President, Biggs blocked multiple animal protection bills and supported removing farm animals, including horses, from animal cruelty law protections. He also restricted citizen initiatives and, while in the Arizona House, sponsored legislation that expanded the state’s RICO statute to penalize mainstream animal protection groups as “ecological and animal terrorism.” Voters can review his full record through HWAF’s Humane Scorecards and HVA Legislative Reports and Scorecards.

Arizona Secretary of State

Adrian Fontes

Arizona’s citizen initiative and referendum process is one of our most important tools for protecting animals. Thanks to citizen initiatives, Arizona voters banned leghold traps and poisons on public lands; cockfighting; and inhumane confinement of farm animals. It is important to elect a Secretary of State that protects citizens’ voting rights, including citizen initiatives and referendums.

In his 2022 HVA candidate survey response, Adrian Fontes expressed his strong commitment to protect and strengthen Arizona’s citizen initiative process. He stated: “Right now many roadblocks undemocratically hold people down in Arizona and make it too difficult to establish policy initiatives at the grassroots level. Changing that is one of my key focuses.” Throughout his term, Fontes has worked to protect citizens’ voting rights.

As a state legislator, Representative Alexander Kolodin sponsored a 2025 bill that threatened to dismantle Arizona’s successful Spaying and Neutering Special License Plate and the Companion Animal Spay Neuter Committee. This vital program provides essential financial backing for critical spay and neuter surgeries across the state. Eliminating it would have stripped communities of the very resources needed to prevent the birth of thousands of homeless cats and dogs. Kolodin’s bill also aimed to repeal the voluntary taxpayer donation program, which has successfully raised millions of dollars for local nonprofits, shelters, and tribal entities. Thanks to powerful committee testimony from animal protection organizations and other groups, the damaging bill was overwhelmingly defeated in the House by a 17-42-1 vote. For more information on Kolodin’s voting record visit HVA Legislative Reports and Scorecards.

Arizona Attorney General

Kris Mayes

As Arizona Attorney General, Kris Mayes secured a precedent-setting $11 million settlement with an out-of-state mega-dairy that had depleted groundwater and residents’ wells in Cochise County, bypassing restrictive state agricultural laws to directly fund emergency water hauling and replacement wells for impacted residents. Additionally, Mayes coordinated a major 30-count state grand jury indictment in 2024 against 14 individuals, successfully dismantling a massive, multi-county illegal wildlife poaching ring on charges of conspiracy, wildlife theft, and animal cruelty. Her administration also launched a statewide public awareness initiative to combat housing discrimination under the Arizona Fair Housing Act, with a primary focus on protecting renters who rely on emotional support animals.

Warren Petersen’s record on animal protection reflects a long‑standing pattern of opposition to humane legislation and support for animal industry‑aligned policies. Throughout his terms in the Legislature, and especially during his tenure as Senate President, Petersen has consistently taken positions that weaken animal protection efforts, undermine wildlife conservation, and block bipartisan humane reforms through unfriendly committee assignments. Petersen also has a consistent record of opposing or weakening Arizona’s citizen initiative and referendum rights. For more information on Petersen’s voting record visit HVA Legislative Reports and Scorecards.

Animal Advocate Candidates in Other Races

HVA primarily makes endorsements on legislative races. However, we believe it is important for voters to learn about the position of candidates in other races regarding animal protection. You can find voting records for federal candidates by visiting HWAF’s Humane Scorecards and  Animal Wellness Action’s Congressional Profiles

Congressional District 1 Primary Election

Dr. Amish Shah, candidate for Congressional District 1, is a former state  representative who has demonstrated a strong commitment for animal protection and citizen initiative rights. He sponsored bills that would have repealed the law prohibiting local ordinances that ban sales of puppy mill dogs, legislation to outlaw the practice of declawing cats, and other animal protection bills (see HVA 2019-2023 Legislative Reports). Dr. Shah demonstrated a strong track record of bipartisan collaboration on animal protection measures, and worked hard towards that goal.

Pima County Animal Welfare Court Justice

Victoria Steele is running for reelection for Animal Welfare Court Justice of the Peace in Pima County Consolidated Justice Court Dist 1. In Court, Judge Steele demonstrates her strong ethics and compassion for animals on a daily basis. As a former legislator, Senator Steele has a 100 percent voting record on animal-related bills from Humane Voters of AZ and also helped sponsor legislation to address puppy mills and worked to pass the bill that raised penalties for extreme animal abuse (see HVA 2013-2015 House and 2019-2022 Senate Legislative Reports)

Ballot Measure Recommendations

HVA urges animal advocates to reject measures referred to the ballot by legislators that threaten our citizen initiative process, which is our most important tool for protecting animals. Arizona’s citizen initiative process is a constitutional right enacted at statehood in 1912. One of the Arizona founders’ biggest concerns was the right of citizens to pass laws when the legislature refused to act. The first citizen initiative passed in Arizona recognized women’s right to vote. Thanks to grassroots citizen ballot measures, voters banned indiscriminate leghold traps, snares, and poisons on public lands in 1994. Cockfighting was outlawed in 1998. In 2006, voters prohibited the inhumane confinement of pregnant pigs and calves raised for veal in industrial agricultural operations. All these measures failed in the legislature yet were passed by Arizona voters, most by landslide margins. In 1998 the Voter Protection Act was passed to prevent the legislature from undermining citizen initiatives passed by voters. Over the years, the Legislature has placed a number of referendums on the ballot that could have decimated our public initiative process but voters defeated most referred measures, indicating the strong determination of citizens to defend voting rights.

Vote NO on Proposition 144

The Legislature referred to the ballot this constitutional amendment that requires all Arizona voters to show valid government photo ID before casting a ballot in each election, whether voting in person or by any other method. Arizona already requires proper ID for voter registration and voting in person. Prop 144 would also require photo ID at each election for the 80 percent of Arizonans that vote by mail instead of the current signature verification system. The measure does not provide guidelines on how photo ID verification for mail-in ballots would be accomplished. Imposing a new eligibility condition without an implementation system could create confusion for voters and suppress participation. It also would give the Legislature the power to shut down mail-in voting. If fewer voters participate, citizen initiatives become harder to enact, because they depend on mass public approval. This could have a chilling effect on citizen initiative and referendum campaigns. Prop 144 does not merely add an identification requirement; it erects a new barrier to Arizona’s citizen initiative power by reducing mail-in voting and making it harder for Arizonans to participate in the elections that decide initiatives and referendums.