Prop 319 puts the future of red-light and speed cameras in Arizona voters’ hands

Arizona voters will decide the future of photo enforcement with Proposition 319 on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Prop 319 would ban local governments from adding photo radar camera systems to enforce speeding, traffic signal and traffic sign violations.

Cities such as Phoenix that already have photo enforcement contracts can keep them in the short term but would have to get approval from voters in the next general election and every 10 years thereafter to continue. But no new systems would be permitted starting Jan. 1, 2027, if Prop 319 passes.

Prop 319 would indirectly reduce the civil penalties and criminal fines that partly go to the Citizens Clean Elections Fund, which helps participating Arizona candidates finance their campaigns.

The ballot measure was referred to voters through Senate Concurrent Resolution 1004, which received overwhelming support from Republican lawmakers and a handful of votes from Democrats.

What are the arguments for Prop 319?

In 2023, Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill introduced by Republican state Sen. Wendy Rogers that aimed to put similar restrictions on photo enforcement.

Rogers also introduced the resolution that put Prop 319 on the ballot.

“Arizonans want freedom; this speaks to the freedom to being able to transit a stoplight without having one’s picture taken,” Rogers told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

The Republican lawmaker said photo enforcement presents similar privacy concerns as Flock Safety cameras and other automated license plate reader technology.

Rogers asserted that both red-light and speed cameras fail to improve driving behavior, though she did not provide any specific data.

A 2005 Federal Highway Administration study found that red-light cameras reduced T-bone crashes by 25% but increased rear-end crashes by 15%, concluding they can lead to safer intersections in the right locations.

Rogers said cities want to preserve photo enforcement to keep the cash flowing in from fines they generate.

“Absolutely, it is a cash cow. They can serve these tickets without a human being,” she said.

The Clean Elections Fund reduction is a benefit for Rogers.

“I come from a culture where when one runs for office, they should have to earn it, not get government subsidies for running,” Rogers said.

What are the arguments against Prop 319?

Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, opposes Prop 319 because it casts a wide net over two different technologies.

While he does not defend the use of speed cameras, he believes red-light cameras save lives when used at the right intersections.

“Some [studies] show that it reduces those violent T-bone crashes that kill and maim people by 50%; other studies [show] like a 20% decrease in those T-bone crashes,” Humble said.

He was referring to the Federal Highway Administration study as well as data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Both indicate a reduction in injury-resulting or fatal crashes in areas with red-light cameras, though not to the tune of a 50% drop.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report concluded that red-light cameras can reduce serious crashes, and removing them may increase fatal crashes.

Humble also acknowledged that red-light cameras can increase rear-end crashes, but he said those are usually less violent incidents.

“The problem with Prop 319, for cities that don’t have photo enforcement now, they can never have it in the future — no matter how dangerous their intersections get,” he said.

Legislative District 3 Democrats of northeastern Maricopa County also pushed back on the Clean Elections funding impact.

“Far-right extremists’ excuse for doing this is that they call photo radar ‘totalitarianism’ and ‘mass surveillance,’ but the real reason is that it’s a backdoor way to defund the voter-created Citizens Clean Elections Commission, which they and their dark-money backers have long hated,” the organization said in an argument published on Ballotpedia.

What do Arizona voters need to know about Prop 319 on their ballots?

Here is the official ballot language for Prop 319:

OFFICIAL TITLE: AMENDING SECTION 28-1201, ARIZONA REVISED STATUTES; AMENDING TITLE 28, CHAPTER 3, ARTICLE 21, ARIZONA REVISED STATUTES, BY ADDING SECTION 28-1207.

DESCRIPTIVE TITLE: PROHIBITS STATE AGENCIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FROM USING PHOTO ENFORCEMENT SYSTEMS FOR TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNLESS PROVIDED BY CONTRACT AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2026; REQUIRES LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO OBTAIN VOTER APPROVAL TO CONTINUE THEIR USE.

A “yes” vote shall have the effect of: (1) prohibiting state agencies and local governments from using photo enforcement systems to identify violators of traffic laws unless the agency or government contracts to use those systems by December 31, 2026; and (2) requiring local governments to obtain voter approval of existing photo enforcement systems at the next regular general election and every 10 years afterward to continue using photo enforcement systems.

A “no” vote shall have the effect of maintaining the current laws governing photo enforcement systems.

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