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Goldwater Institute leads charge to keep Protect Education Act off the ballot

A Protect Education Act yard sign on display as supporters deliver deliver boxes of signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office on Thursday, July 2, 2026.
Protect Education, Accountability Now!
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A Protect Education Act yard sign on display as supporters deliver deliver boxes of signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office on Thursday, July 2, 2026.

Supporters of Arizona’s universal school voucher program are asking the courts to stop a ballot initiative from going before voters in November.

The Goldwater Institute, a conservative think tank, is leading the charge. In papers filed Monday on behalf of four individuals, the organization is questioning the validity of the more than 421,000 signatures gathered in support of the Protect Education Act, which would restrict the state’s universal school voucher program, including a cap on income eligibility for families.

Ryan Mills is with the Goldwater Institute. He called the effort a “shameless attack on Arizona parents.”

“We don't believe the unions have turned in enough valid signatures and that they're trying to game the system to get on the ballot,” Mills said.

Behind the ballot measure are groups like Save our Schools Arizona and the Arizona Education Association, the state’s largest teacher’s union. A spokesperson for the groups called the challenge predictable.

More Arizona K-12 education news

KJZZ senior field correspondent Kathy Ritchie has 20 years of experience reporting and writing stories for national and local media outlets — nearly a decade of it has been spent in public media.