Carter, De Los Santos Spar over Final Night Kolodin House Bill Vote

PHOENIX — A late-night procedural fight on the final night of Arizona’s 2026 legislative session erupted into a heated confrontation between Republican Rep. Neal Carter and Democratic House Minority Leader Oscar De Los Santos, underscoring the partisan tensions surrounding a final push of Republican-backed ballot referrals.

The clash occurred during marathon voting that stretched into the early morning hours of June 13, with the Legislature adjourning sine die at 4:45 a.m. The confrontation unfolded as House Democrats were explaining their votes on HCR 2001, a Republican election measure that would ask voters to place new election rules in the Arizona Constitution.

According to Democratic accounts of the exchange and video circulated by Arizona House Democrats, tempers flared after the voting board closed while Democrats were still attempting to explain their opposition. Democrats argued the move cut off debate and limited their ability to object publicly to one of the night’s most contentious measures.

Carter, who was presiding as Speaker Pro Tempore, accused De Los Santos of violating House rules by “impugning his motives.” De Los Santos fired back, accusing Carter of escalating the confrontation and attempting to start a physical fight. Arizona House Democrats later amplified the episode online, calling Carter “Crybaby Carter” and saying he “let his temper get the best of him after getting called out by House Democratic Leader Oscar De Los Santos.”

The exchange came as Republicans advanced a series of conservative ballot referrals after reaching a bipartisan budget deal with Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. Unlike ordinary legislation, referrals approved by the Legislature go directly to voters and are not subject to the governor’s veto.

HCR 2001, sponsored by Republican Rep. Alexander Kolodin, would require government-issued identification to vote, limit voting to U.S. citizens, ban foreign money in Arizona elections, end early voting by 7 p.m. on the Friday before a general election, and condition mail-in voting on proof of citizenship and an affirmative ballot request before each biennial general election.

Republicans framed the proposal as an election integrity measure. “These reforms are necessary,” Carter said during the debate. Kolodin previously said HCR 2001 would put “clear rules in the Constitution,” adding, “citizens vote, voters show ID, foreign money stays out, ballots are counted on time, and Election Day means Election Day.”

Democrats portrayed the measure as an attack on Arizona’s widely used mail voting system. Sen. Analise Ortiz, D-Phoenix, said the proposal’s effect would be to restrict access for seniors, rural voters, tribal voters, people with disabilities, and working voters.

The Carter-De Los Santos confrontation provided a vivid final image of the session: a bipartisan budget agreement giving way almost immediately to a partisan fight over election rules, school vouchers, anti-DEI measures, and other ballot referrals that will now move from the Capitol to Arizona voters.