So earlier this year in the legislature there was a fight between conservatives and establishment Republicans. The proposal to give Arizona's electoral votes callen "National Popular Vote" failed to get a hearing in the Arizona State Senate, but only after the House passed it.
Now, the new House Speaker, JD Mesnard supports the proposal, and the Senate President who blocked it, Andy Biggs is no longer in the Senate. So Could AZ be the next state to sign up for this proposal which would throw away the electoral college? Mesnards beef with the electoral college system is that it makes AZ "irrelevant", a status which sounds a little weird after being a toss-up state for the better part of this year.
Mesnard told Tucson.com:
"What happens is we get ignored...It makes Arizona relevant...How many Republicans stayed home in California?"
Opponent of the proposal Roberth Hawthorne said in a hearing earlier this year:
It’s a direct attack on our republic and will lead us down the path to what is known as direct democracy, that is, direct government ruled by the majority, often referred to as rob rule.
The hearing at the AZ Legislature was well attended by the opponents of the law, bringing out heavyweight activists like LD23 chairman and AZGOP chair hopeful Jim O'Connor, and former US Senate candidate Alex Meluskey.
The National Popular Voter proposal states:
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes nationwide (i.e., all 50 states and the District of Columbia). It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more electoral votes. The bill has passed one chamber in 12 additional states with 96 electoral votes. Most recently, the bill was passed by a bipartisan 40–16 vote in the Republican-controlled Arizona House, 28–18 in Republican-controlled Oklahoma Senate, 57–4 in Republican-controlled New York Senate, and 37–21 in Democratic-controlled Oregon House.