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Arizona Gov. Ducey Says He Never Banned Mask Mandates

Even though he signed a measure into law that would have prevented Arizona public schools from requiring masks, Gov. Doug Ducey is denying that he played a role in banning mask mandates.

After a Maricopa County Superior Court judge struck down the law, Ducey attempted to distance his office from the policy. But Ducey’s argument to reporters that people have always been allowed to wear masks if they wanted did not address the issue of whether or not schools could require them.

“There’s no ban on mask mandates. Anyone can wear a mask in Arizona, there’s no prohibition. When you guys want to talk about mandates, there’s no mandate that came from my office," Ducey said Wednesday.

Attorneys for the state are appealing a judge’s ruling that the ban and other laws that Republican legislators packed into the state budget are unconstitutional.

The Arizona Supreme Court denied a request by the Legislature to let a ban on mask mandates take effect Wednesday.

The order means that, for now, Arizona public schools can continue to require masks on campus.

→  Arizona's Ban On School Mask Mandates Is Unconstitutional, Judge Rules

Reyna Preciado was an intern at KJZZ in 2021.