GOP lawmakers want to restrict early ballot drop-offs for quicker election results

• Much of Arizona's notoriously long ballot-counting process is due to the time it takes to verify signatures on early-ballot envelopes. 
• It can take a week or more to determine the winner in some races, including in high-profile contests for president, U.S. Senate, governor and attorney general. 

Yes, but: Advocates of continuing Election Day drop-offs, or late earlies, say it makes voting more accessible. 

• Voters don't have to wait in line to drop off early ballots. 

The other side: Hobbs, a former Arizona secretary of state, hasn't softened her position on early ballot drop-offs. 

• Spokesperson Christian Slater told Axios the governor "opposes any proposal to restrict Arizonans' freedom to make their voices heard at the ballot box." 
• "The governor will not support a bill that makes it harder to vote," Slater said via text message. 

State of play: Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, said legislation to restrict early ballot drop-offs will probably be the first bill he sponsors for the next legislative session. 

• Petersen has advocated for Arizona to use a system similar to that of Florida, where the only place voters can deposit early ballots on Election Day is a county elections office, which means swift counts. 
• Sen. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, said he's already working on a bill modeled on his 2023 proposal to restrict early ballot drop-offs after the Friday before Election Day.

• Mesnard's bill, which Hobbs vetoed, would still have allowed early ballot drop-offs but would require voters to show ID at the polls, the same as people who cast ballots on Election Day. 

The intrigue: Petersen told Axios that public sentiment has changed, and he expressed hope that Hobbs would follow suit, saying, "Let's see what happens. We have been able to work out plenty of other challenges." 

What to watch: If Republican lawmakers can't get around Hobbs' veto stamp, they could put something directly on the ballot and let the voters decide. 

• Mesnard and Petersen both left open the possibility of referring something to the ballot if they can't get the governor's signature.