League Advocacy Priorities

The 2025 Defend Democracy priorities, set through the Women Defend Democracy campaign, guide how we deploy our resources statewide and locally.

• Gold – Core Leadership: Issues at the heart of our mission, where the League leads with full strength and visibility.

• Silver – Partnerships: Significant issues where we collaborate, amplify, and support partners leading the fight.

• Bronze – Awareness: Important issues where our engagement is measured, ensuring focus on top priorities.

This framework keeps the League disciplined, impactful, and strategic in defending democracy.

Thousands of Arizona citizens (83,000 in Maricopa County alone) are currently at risk of losing their ability to fully exercise their voting rights in future elections due to legal issues at the state level, where they have been assigned a Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC) status – limiting them to receiving Federal-only ballots.

LWVAZ has partnered with One Arizona to take action on this issue by notifying Arizona voters on the DPOC list about their current status and urging them to check their registration status prior to the next election.  We need YOUR help with this critical outreach, which will be done through phone banking efforts beginning in September and October.

Training and a script will be provided to LWVAZ volunteers participating in the phone banking efforts. The first two Zoom training sessions on the phone banking software, Scale to Win, will be held:

• Saturday 9/13, 1-2pm    Link to Register

• Friday 9/19, 10-11am     Link to Register 

Build community while helping ensure that all voters are able to fully participate in future elections!

Join a LWV AZ Public Policy Positions Study Team

At the 2025 LWVAZ Biennial Convention, members reviewed our Public Policy Positions and set priorities for the years ahead. The work ahead now requires your participation.

Approved Studies & Reviews:

• New Study on Housing – developing a state position on housing.

• Medical Aid in Dying – study launched in 2023, still in progress.

• Ongoing Reviews – Election Systems (last updated 2017), Legislative & Congressional Redistricting (2005), and Initiative & Referendum (1970s).

Study teams are how we develop or update League positions. Each team (minimum three members and a chair) conducts research, ensures statewide representation, and brings recommendations forward for adoption by members. Teams may recommend revised or new positions for adoption through concurrence (verbatim adoption of another League’s position) or consensus (member agreement after study and discussion).

This is the work that defines our advocacy and allows us to Speak with One Voice on the issues we care about most.

👉Click here to volunteer:  Public Policy Study Volunteer Sign Up

Your voice and participation will shape the League’s ability to advocate effectively across Arizona.

A Civic Education Project of the League of Women Voters of Arizona

When the Declaration of Independence was written 250 years ago, it was more than a call for freedom—it was a bold assertion of a social contract. Government exists only with the consent of the governed, and its duty is to secure the rights and representation of the people. These principles shaped the Constitution and were guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, which gave remedies for the very grievances that inspired the Declaration.

Today, those expectations still matter. As we continue to face voter suppression, exclusion, and inequitable representation, the promise of a just social contract remains central to the fight for democracy.

Social Contract in Action: Democracy, Dialogue and Civic Duty is a multimedia videocast/podcast civic education series led by LWVAZ members in collaboration with youth and community voices across generations. The project captures the diversity of experiences and perspectives that shape democracy today while exploring our founding documents and their modern relevance.

We are now in Phase One, leading to the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026. This phase begins with Series 1: Breaking Away – The Declaration of Independence, a youth-led exploration of America’s founding ideals and their relevance today, and continues with Series 2: Securing Rights – The Bill of Rights, examining how the first ten amendments responded to the Declaration and why they remain vital to civic life.

Phase Two will move us toward the November 2026 elections, with Series 3: The Power of the Vote – Our Democratic Processes covering the Census, redistricting, the National Popular Vote Compact, and Ranked Choice Voting, and Series 4: Living the Contract – Civic Identity & Civil Discourse, which reflects on how people today engage in democracy, bridge divides, and uphold the responsibilities of self-government. Together, these four series will connect our founding principles to the urgent democratic challenges of our time, reminding us why defending the social contract is essential for the future.

How to Get Involved:  This multigenerational project depends on many voices and talents, and we invite you to be part of shaping Series 2–4. Volunteers can help recruit speakers, serve as readers or moderators, bring legal or historical expertise, or provide production support. Each role offers a way to contribute meaningfully—whether you’re guiding discussions, lending your voice to historical texts, offering contemporary youth perspectives, or assisting with script development and editing.

Once episodes are released, you can further amplify their impact by sharing them with your networks and sparking community conversations. Whether you lead, support, or simply spread the word, your involvement ensures the project reflects a wide range of voices and strengthens its reach. 

NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION DAY:  League is Active Across the State

Every September, National Voter Registration Day (NVRD) shines a spotlight on the importance of empowering every eligible voter to have their say. Across Arizona, local Leagues are stepping up in schools, colleges, libraries, farmers' markets, and community events to ensure that new and returning voters are ready for 2024 and beyond.

This effort is truly statewide and multigenerational. From high school seniors preparing to vote for the first time to community members discovering resources at local markets, the League is everywhere voters are. Together, we are building a culture of civic participation and defending democracy at the most local level.

League Presence Across Arizona

From classrooms, libraries, and community spaces, League members are showing up across the state to empower voters and defend democracy. Here’s where you’ll find us during National Voter Registration Week:

• LWV of Central Yavapai County – Prescott College on National Voter Registration Day

• LWV of Greater Tucson – Flowing Wells High School during NVRD week

• LWV of Metro Phoenix – Scottsdale Public Library, Burton Barr Central Library, and South Mountain Community College Library

• LWV of Northern Arizona – Farmers Market on Saturdays

• LWV of Northwest Maricopa County – Boulder Creek High School, Anthem, presenting to government and economics classes on voter registration and how to research their ballot; multiple classes will be covered throughout the day

Please volunteer, join in the effort, and show up to support your local League. Additional events during NVRD week can be found on each League’s website, with links available at www.lwvaz.org.

Together, these efforts showcase the League’s strength and commitment across Arizona—meeting people where they are and ensuring every voter has a voice.

LWVAZ Statement:  Yet another day in America was marked by gun violence.
A school shooting in Colorado claimed young lives, while a political figure was also shot—two tragedies in a single day that reveal how gun violence reaches into every corner of our society. From classrooms to neighborhoods to public spaces, no community is untouched. These events are a stark reminder that gun violence is destroying lives and weakening the very fabric of our country. Read full article here.

LWVAZ Statement: Access to the Ballot should be equal for all Arizona voters and not undermined by counties.

The League of Women Voters of Arizona welcomes Attorney General Kris Mayes’ August 18, 2025, opinion (I25-007), which makes clear that county recorders cannot cancel or downgrade voter registrations based solely on missing documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) in legacy records.  Counties that choose to ignore this ruling are doing a disservice to voters, exposing themselves to costly litigation, and undermining confidence in the fairness of Arizona’s elections.  Ultimately, individuals who have been voting lawfully for years are being pushed out of the system because of unauthorized local practices.  Read full article here.  Join us to call voters impacted by the DPOC status.

Redistricting in the News - How is Arizona Impacted?

Redistricting is once again making national headlines reshaping maps and the balance of voter representation in real time. Across the country, several states are creating or attempting to change maps outside of the normal once-a-decade cycle that follows the census. So why is redistricting dominating the news now? These developments underscore the urgency of ensuring fair maps and highlight why the League of Women Voters of Arizona must frame its work within this broader context.   Read full article here.

LWVAZ and Naturalization Ceremonies 

On August 29, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued new policy guidance stating that only state or local election officials may provide voter registration services at the end of administrative naturalization ceremonies held at USCIS facilities.  In Arizona, voter registration at naturalization ceremonies is managed by county elections departments, not by the League. Our role is to recruit and support volunteers who serve as trained deputy registrars in partnership with counties.

Volunteers must use county-issued identification (not League materials), follow county rules, and protect registrants’ privacy. Maricopa County and others rely on League members to help staff ceremonies, and training through your county elections office is required before serving.

Learn more about how the process works in Arizona — including volunteer opportunities and additional ways Leagues can support new citizens  by reading the complete article.

2025 LWVAZ Advocacy & Action: Legislative Wrap-up

Described variously as a train wreck, dumpster fire, topsy-turvy, and quarrelsome (the Governor's description), the 2025 legislative session of the Fifty-seventh Legislature's First Regular Session concluded on June 27 with a bipartisan budget signed just in time to keep the government functioning. Gov. Hobbs broke her own veto record, vetoing 174 bills (many of which were voter suppression bills that the league opposed), compared with 143 in 2023, her first year in office.  Read the full article here

Protecting free elections and separation of powers

LWVUS, LWV of Arizona and partners filed a federal lawsuit arguing that President Trump’s Executive Order 14248, which ordered the EAC to require documentary proof of citizenship on the federal voter registration form, threatened to withhold funds from states allowing post-election day receipt of mail ballots, and invited DOGE to assist in voter list maintenance, among other provisions, was an illegal order beyond the President’s powers under the United States Constitution and federal law.  Read more…