Our democracy works best when every voter can participate. Yet Arizona, in 2022, passed two anti-voter laws, H.B. 2492 and H.B. 2243, that undermined Arizonans’ access to the ballot box.
These laws, effective since January 1, 2023, severely restricted the ability of Arizonans—particularly Latino and Native Arizonans—from exercising their freedom to vote.
Last week, a federal judge struck down numerous anti-voter provisions of these laws—a victory for all Arizonans, but especially for Latino and Native voters who have long faced significant barriers to the ballot box.
The decision prevents Arizona from rejecting voter registration forms submitted without documentary proof of citizenship, which discriminates against Latino citizens, and strikes down another provision that required applicants provide documentary proof of their residence when registering to vote, which discriminates against Native citizens.
Additionally, the judge’s decision also prevents unlawfully purging voters from the registration rolls within 90 days of an election and rejecting registration forms that do not have the citizenship box ‘checked’—even if proof of citizenship is submitted. The ruling also affirms that tribal ID is appropriate proof of residency, and now, in some circumstances, voters can provide a written affidavit attesting residence.
Taken together, the ruling validates a fundamental principle of our democracy: Voting should be accessible to every citizen, no matter where they live, how much money they make, or their race.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC), the Department of Justice of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, Barton Mendez Soto PLLC, Free Speech for People and Mayer Brown, LLP filed the lawsuit in 2022 on behalf of Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Arizona Students’ Association (ASA), Arizona Democracy Resource Center (ADRC), Arizona Coalition for Change (ACC), the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA) and the San Carlos Apache Tribe.
CLC goes to trial in November against the remaining challenged provisions of H.B. 2492 and H.B. 2243, and our team looks forward to continuing the fight to defend Arizonans’ freedom to vote.