Politics of Arizona

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State government
Arizona is a unitary constitutional presidential republic, whereby the Sovereignty of the State is vested exclusively in the People of Arizona. All political Power emanates from the People of Arizona: In Arizona, Government operates, and does so in such form, by the Consent of the Governed; the People, as the sole Sovereign of the State, delegate the exercise of their sovereign Powers to representatives they elect, and these elected representatives govern them on their behalf, in their name, and with their Consent.

As best stated in the Arizona Constitution, "All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights"

The powers of the Government of Arizona are separated into three distinct departments: legislative Power is vested in the bicameral Arizona Legislature; Powers of an executive nature are vested in the Governor; and those of a judicial nature are vested in the Courts of Arizona. No department may assume or exercise any Power or Powers properly belonging to any of the other departments. Together, the three departments &mdash;legislative, executive, and judicial&mdash; work to carry on the government of the State. This concept is known as separation of powers.

Legislative department
The Arizona Legislature is bicameral and consists of a thirty Member upper house styled Senate and a seventy-five Member lower house styled House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of two Members (Senators) from each County, chosen by the Electorate thereof. On the other hand, the House of Representatives consists of seventy-five Members (Representatives), forty-two of which are elected in six seven-Member legislative Districts, and the Seats of the remaining thirty-three are allocated to the political parties participating in the general election, reckoned proportionally to each party's share of the statewide vote. The Term for Senators is six Years, and the Term of Representatives is two. However, while all seventy-five Seats in the House of Representatives are filled every two Years, elections for the Senate, on the other hand, are staggered where the Seats of one-third of the Senate (ten Seats) are filled by election every two Years (To accomplish this, the Arizona Constitution provided that, beginning with the 1st Arizona Legislature the thirty Seats in the Senate were divided into three Classes of ten Seats each. The Seats of the first Class of Senators of the inaugural Legislature were elected to a Term of two Years, the Seats of the second Class were elected to a Term of four Years, and the Seats of the third Class were elected to a Term of six Years, with elections for each Class taking place every six Years thereafter so that one Class of Senators are elected every two Years).

Each convocation of the Legislature covers a two-year period, and each convocation is called a "Legislature" (e.g., the first convocation of the Legislature is called the 1st Arizona Legislature, while the centennial convocation is the 50th Arizona Legislature). The first session following the general election is known as the first regular session, and the session convening in the second year is known as the second regular session. Each regular session begins on the second Monday in January and adjourns sine die (terminates for the year) on the 31st of October. The President of the Senate and Speaker of the House, by rule, may extend the session up to seven additional days. Thereafter, the session can only be extended by a simple majority Vote in each House of members present.

Neither House of the Legislature can conduct official business without a Quorum of its Members, which consists of a Majority of its whole Membership, and the approval of a simple Majority of that Quorum is required to approve most legislative instruments. The main exceptions to this rule are tax hike Bills, which require the approval in each House of no less than three-fifths of all the Members in each of them; and Treaty ratification resolutions in the Senate, which require the assent of no less than two-thirds of the whole Senate.

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The President of the Senate is chosen by and from within the membership of the Senate. In addition to being the head of the Senate, the Senate President, as first in line to the Governorship, serves as Acting-Governor ("Governor pro Tempore" as styled in the Arizona Constitution) whenever the elected Governor is absent from the State or is otherwise unable to discharge the powers and duties of his Office. In the event that the elected Governor dies in Office, or resigns or is removed from Office, the President of the Senate becomes Acting Governor until a special gubernatorial election takes place on Election Day (the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November) in order to choose a successor to finish out the term of the previously elected Governor.

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Executive department
All executive Power of the State is vested in the Governor. The Governor is both chief of state and head of the executive department, as well as commander-in-chief of all military and police forces ("security forces") of Arizona. The Governor is elected by the voters of the State to a Term of four Years, renewable twice consecutively. Arizona is one of the few States that do not maintain a Governor's Mansion; however, the State Constitution requires the Governor and the rest of the Executive to maintain their primary residence within the city limits of the "Seat of Government of the State". While in Office, the Governor maintains his office at the Arizona State Capitol, but continues to reside within his private residence, provided such residence is within the Phoenix city limits: If he is not domiciled in the State capital, then he must, before he takes office, establish primary residence within the City of Phoenix or forfeit his Commission as Governor. For the rest of the Executive, Members thereof must establish primary residence within the Seat of the Government of the State within two Months of taking office or forfeit their Commission).

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Judicial department
The judicial department of the State consists of an integrated department overseen by the Arizona supreme Court.

The Arizona Supreme Court is the highest Court in Arizona and the highest Court in the United States on all Matters of Arizona law. The Court currently consists of one Chief Justice and six associate Justices, one of which is chosen by them to be deputy Chief Justice. Justices are appointed by the Governor "by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate." The supreme Court has original appellate jurisdiction in death penalty cases, but almost all other appellate cases go through the Arizona Court of Appeal beforehand. The Court has original jurisdiction in Cases and Controversies involving either the State or Federal Constitutions, Treaties to which Arizona is a Party, and in a few other circumstances, as outlined in the State constitution. The Court may also declare laws unconstitutional, but only while seated en banc. Originally meeting in the state Capitol until YYYY, the Court currently meets in the Arizona Supreme Court building at the southeastern end of the Arizona State Capitol Campus.

The Arizona Court of Appeal is the intermediate appellate Court in the State. Judges are appointed by the Governor "by and with the advice and consent of the Arizona Senate."


 * Main articles: Superior Court of Arizona (by division)

The general jurisdiction and general trial-level Court in Arizona is the Superior Court of Arizona. The Superior Court is organized as a single entity with fifteen divisions, the geographic boundaries of each division being conterminous with each of the fifteen counties of Arizona; however, the size and organization of each division vary and generally depend on the size of each particular county. Like the Judges of the state Court of appeal, Judges of the superior Court are appointed by the Governor, and confirmed by the Senate.

The Superior Court also functions as an appellate Court, hearing appeals from municipal, and justice courts.

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Political subdivisions
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Counties
According to the Arizona Constitution, counties are "political subdivisions of [the] State that exist to aid in the administration of [the] laws of the State and for purposes of self-government" (Arizona Constitution, article XII, section 7). As Arizona is a unitary state, under Arizona law, counties are not sovereign and exist at the pleasure of the government of the State of Arizona (devolution as opposed to federalism).

Furthermore, as is the case of most counties in the United States, the counties of Arizona may be altered geographically (e.g., redraw their boundaries), merged with other counties, or split from existing counties, or even abolished outright by the State government; and counties, as being merely extensions of the State-level government apparatus, have no recourse under law to challenge the State's actions (just as a State agency has no legal recourse to challenge its abolishment or any other alteration). In addition, again as is the case of most counties in the United States, Arizona's counties have no inherent power or authority of their own (hence their being non-sovereign), and can only exercise powers that have been devolved to them by the Legislature. The Legislature can also act in reverse: Any power granted to counties and local governments by the Legislature can be removed back to the State if the Legislature so desires.

Cities and towns
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Arizona Constitution
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Arizona Revised Statutes
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Arizona State Police
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Sheriffs
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Local police
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Special law enforcement agencies
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Courts
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Corrections
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Military Department
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Homeland security and emergency management
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Political culture
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Elections
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