Protesters stood outside the Arizona Capitol building on Wednesday, demanding Secretary of State Katie Hobbs expedite a review to see if the new universal school voucher bill would be put on the ballot, and face a possible cancellation.  

The pro-voucher protesters don’t want the law potentially overturned. And after a recent Goldwater Institute estimate that there aren’t enough signatures to qualify this referendum for the ballot, they want official answers now.

Gov. Doug Ducey joined the protest.

“It's time to put these parents first. Arizona is going to be a state that funds students, not systems," Ducey said.

The latest U.S. Census Bureau data ranks Arizona 48th in the country for per pupil spending in public elementary and secondary education. 

Hobbs tweeted that under state law, her office has a 20-day signature review period, and the count will be done before or at that time.

The state Department of Education also tweeted that Arizonans can still apply for vouchers. The deadline to apply for the Empowerment Scholarship Account program’s first quarter funds is Sept. 30.