PHOENIX — Arizona Secretary of State and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Katie Hobbs released the following statement to mark the start of early voting across the state today:

“Today marks the start of early voting, which has made the ballot box more accessible for eligible Arizonans for the past 30 years,” Hobbs said. “As Secretary of State, I’ve made it my priority to uphold the will of voters and ensure a fair and accurate count. Today also serves as a reminder that my opponent is one of the greatest threats to our democracy in our lifetimes, vowing to end early voting and voting by mail, eliminate electronic voting machines, and disenfranchise Arizona voters if elected. Make no mistake: our democracy is on the ballot this election. We must defeat Kari Lake this November and put an end to her crusade against our freedoms.”

An Arizona Republic report details Kari Lake’s anti-democratic agenda, highlighting her legal attacks on early voting and vote-by-mail, despite a consistent record of turning in her ballot by mail. Lake also continues to spread baseless claims of fraud regarding the 2020 election and has repeatedly pledged to dismantle our elections system, while refusing to say if she’ll accept the results of this election if she loses.

Republicans and Democrats alike have decried Lake’s election denialism. Just yesterday, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey affirmed his “every confidence” in the integrity of the upcoming elections.