An Explanation of Proposition 144

TL;DR: Bill sponsors count on folks just reading the first 10 words of the ballot -- and skipping over the part that blocks mail-in voting (which 80% of Arizona voters use).

What are the main talking points about Proposition 144?

• In the first lines, deceitfully cites laws that already exist - while hiding the true sneaky motive: making mail-in voting impossible - as a way to entice voters to pass the proposition.
• The proposition mostly lists laws that already exist - like banning non-citizens from voting - to trick folks into voting for it. A voter ID requirement - when voters are already required to show proper ID to register to vote.
• Basically makes it impossible for voters to use mail-in voting (which 80% of Arizona voters have used for more than 30 years)
• Changes the standards for the legislature to regulate elections - making it easier for even more repressive voting laws in the future.
• Vague wording would mean that future legislators and courts would have to fight out what it means - including the requirement for a “government ID” to cast a ballot.

For some good explanations, see:

• https://protectthevoteaz.com/
• https://azfemmeaction.substack.com/p/proposition-144-a-sneaky-way-to-get

What's the story behind Proposition 144?

The bill was sponsored by State Rep. Alexander Kolodin, who is running against Adrian Fontes in the race for Secretary of State. Kolodin is an election-denier, and worked to file a series of lawsuits to overturn the 2020 election, alleging massive voter fraud.

Civic Engagement Beyond Voting points out all the dangers of this proposition:

>This legislative referral creates obstacles that would limit our access to the ballot. It authorizes legislators to create a new process for voting by mail, and would even allow the legislature to ban mail-in voting altogether. This means we would be authorizing them to restrict our voting rights in the future. If you're thinking, "They won't do that," consider: the author of this measure freely admits that he designed Prop XXX to eliminate mail-in voting. Arizona’s current mail-in voting system is a model for the rest of the nation. It helps busy voters participate in the democratic process. It's popular with seniors, disabled people, rural residents, and conscientious voters who want to research the important issues on their ballots. It helps families who want to discuss the ballot as they go, and people who don’t want to stand in line (who does?). What are our Republican state lawmakers, who unanimously approved this measure, afraid of? Why are they so determined to keep us from voting? Could it be that gaining and keeping power is more important to them than allowing us, Arizonans, to choose our leaders?

The League of Women Voters AZ also spelled out their opposition, citing the vague and confusing language:

>HCR 2001 amends the Arizona Constitution to impose new election requirements and place detailed election procedures beyond the reach of ordinary legislative review and improvement. Constitutional amendments should protect fundamental rights, not lock election administration policies into place. Arizona voters have consistently embraced early and mail voting because it allows them to participate despite work schedules, family responsibilities, disabilities, health concerns, military service, transportation challenges, or long distances to polling locations. HCR 2001 creates new barriers and uncertainty for these voters by requiring government-issued identification every time a ballot is cast, including for voters who vote by mail, while leaving key implementation details to future legislation. Arizona already has extensive election laws that include multiple safeguards to protect election integrity, and there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud that would justify creating additional barriers for eligible voters. The measure also creates broad constitutional standards that could be used to justify future restrictions on early and mail voting. This proposal uses vague wording and creates opportunities for costly and time-consuming legal challenges at taxpayer expense.

Give the candidates some love!

ACTION ITEM - Take 5 minutes a day to follow, share, like, save and comment on the these candidates' social media accounts. These are the districts that look like they are the most flippable - so give these guys some love.

🏛️ ARIZONA LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT CANDIDATES & HANDLES

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📌 DISTRICT 2 (North Phoenix / Anthem / Cave Creek) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

 • Stephanie Simacek (House) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Stephanie_Simacek ▪ Campaign: https://www.simacekforaz.com/ ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephaniesimacekforaz/ ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simacekforaz/ ▪ X: https://x.com/SimacekforAZ

• Amelia Gallitano (Senate) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Amelia_Gallitano ▪ Campaign: https://www.ameliaforaz.com/ ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ameliaforaz/ ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmeliaForAZ/

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 📌 DISTRICT 4 (Paradise Valley / N. Scottsdale / N. Phoenix) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

• Aaron Lieberman (Senate) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Aaron_Lieberman ▪ Campaign: https://www.aaron4az.com/about-aaron ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aaron4az/ ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaron4az/

• Karen Gresham (House) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Karen_Gresham ▪ Campaign: https://www.karenforaz.com/ ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karengreshamaz ▪ X: https://x.com/KarenGreshamAZ ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karen_gresham_az/

• Tammy Caputi (House) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Tammy_Caputi ▪ Campaign: https://tammycaputi.com/Home ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tammycaputi/?locale=es_LA ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caputiforarizona/

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📌 DISTRICT 9 (Mesa / Tempe - East Valley) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

• Kiana Sears (Senate - Incumbent/Appointed) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Kiana_Sears ▪ Campaign: https://searsforarizona.com/ ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kiana.storeysears ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kianamariasears4az/

• Lorena Austin (House - Incumbent) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Lorena_Austin ▪ Campaign: https://www.lorenaaustin.com/ ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LorenaAustinAZ ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/LorenaAustinaz/ ▪ X: https://x.com/LorenaAustin4Az ▪ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@lorenaaustinaz

• Jacob Martinez (House) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Jacob_Martinez ▪ Campaign: https://www.martinezforaz.com/ ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martinezforaz/ ▪ X: https://x.com/MartinezForAriz ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MartinezForAriz

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📌 DISTRICT 13 (Chandler / Gilbert - SE Valley) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

• Kristie O'Brien (Senate) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Kristie_O%27Brien ▪ Campaign: https://www.kristieforaz.com/ ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KristieOBrienforAZ/ ▪ X: https://x.com/KristieOBrienAZ ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristieobrienaz/

• Jacob Weinberg (House - Army vet/CFO) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Jacob_Weinberg ▪ Campaign: https://www.electweinberg.com/ ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/electweinberg/ ▪ X: https://x.com/electweinberg ▪ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/electweinberg.bsky.social ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61570788718913

• Racquel 'Rockee' Armstrong (House) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Racquel_Armstrong ▪ Campaign: https://rockee4az.com/ ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rockee4AZ/ ▪ X: https://x.com/Rockee4AZ ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockee4az

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📌 DISTRICT 16 (Pinal County / Casa Grande / Maricopa) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

• Elaine Aldrete (Senate) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Elaine_Aldrete ▪ Campaign: https://aldrete4az.org/ ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElaineAldreteForAZSenate/

• Julia Gusse (House) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Julia_Gusse ▪ Campaign: https://www.juliaforarizona.com/ ▪ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JULIAGUSSE ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliagusse/

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📌 DISTRICT 17 (Tucson / Oro Valley / Marana) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

 • Edgar Soto (Senate) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Edgar_Soto ▪ Campaign: https://www.sotoforarizona.com/ ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sotoforarizona/ ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555908786633

• Kevin Volk (House - Incumbent) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Kevin_Volk ▪ Campaign: https://www.kevinvolkaz.com/ ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevinvolkaz ▪ X: https://x.com/KevinVolkAZ ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kevinvolkaz

• Hollace Lyon (House) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Hollace_Lyon ▪ Campaign: https://www.lyonforarizona.com/ ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LyonforArizona ▪ X: https://x.com/LyonforAZ ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lyonforarizona

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 📌 DISTRICT 23 (Western AZ / Yuma / SW Phoenix suburbs) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

 • Brian Fernandez (Senate - Incumbent) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Brian_Fernandez ▪ Campaign: https://www.briansfernandez.com/ ▪ X: https://x.com/BrianSFernandez ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/briansfernandez

• Mariana Sandoval (House - Incumbent) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Mariana_Sandoval ▪ Campaign: https://www.sandovalforaz.com/ ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SandovalForArizona ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandovalforaz ▪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandovalforaz

• Emilia Cortez (House) ▪ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Emilia_Cortez ▪ Campaign: https://www.emiliaforazld23.com/ ▪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emiliaforazld23 ▪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emiliaforazld23/

Like, follow, share these candidates in the hottest legislative district races:

District	District Location	Chamber	Candidate	Social Media & Campaign Handles
2	North Phoenix / Anthem / Cave Creek	House	Stephanie Simacek	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Facebook • Instagram • X (Twitter)
2	North Phoenix / Anthem / Cave Creek	Senate	Amelia Gallitano	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Instagram • Facebook
4	Paradise Valley / N. Scottsdale / N. Phoenix	Senate	Aaron Lieberman	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Facebook • Instagram
4	Paradise Valley / N. Scottsdale / N. Phoenix	House	Karen Gresham	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Facebook • X (Twitter) • Instagram
4	Paradise Valley / N. Scottsdale / N. Phoenix	House	Tammy Caputi	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Facebook • Instagram
9	Mesa / Tempe (East Valley)	Senate	Kiana Sears (incumbent/appointed)	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Facebook • Instagram
9	Mesa / Tempe (East Valley)	House	Lorena Austin (incumbent)	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Facebook • Instagram • X (Twitter) • Threads
9	Mesa / Tempe (East Valley)	House	Jacob Martinez	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Instagram • X (Twitter) • Facebook
13	Chandler / Gilbert (SE Valley)	Senate	Kristie O'Brien	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Facebook • X (Twitter) • Instagram
13	Chandler / Gilbert (SE Valley)	House	Jacob Weinberg (Army vet/CFO)	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Instagram • X (Twitter) • Bluesky • Facebook
13	Chandler / Gilbert (SE Valley)	House	Racquel 'Rockee' Armstrong	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Facebook • X (Twitter) • Instagram
16	Pinal County / Casa Grande / Maricopa	Senate	Elaine Aldrete	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Facebook
16	Pinal County / Casa Grande / Maricopa	House	Julia Gusse	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • YouTube • Facebook • Instagram
17	Tucson / Oro Valley / Marana	Senate	Edgar Soto	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Instagram • Facebook
17	Tucson / Oro Valley / Marana	House	Kevin Volk (incumbent)	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Instagram • X (Twitter) • Facebook
17	Tucson / Oro Valley / Marana	House	Hollace Lyon	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Facebook • X (Twitter) • Instagram
23	Western AZ / Yuma / SW Phoenix suburbs	Senate	Brian Fernandez (incumbent)	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • X (Twitter) • Instagram
23	Western AZ / Yuma / SW Phoenix suburbs	House	Mariana Sandoval (incumbent)	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Facebook • Instagram • TikTok
23	Western AZ / Yuma / SW Phoenix suburbs	House	Emilia Cortez	Ballotpedia • Campaign Website • Facebook • Instagram

A quick response from Sec of State Adrian Fontes: We are still pushing ahead to a safe and secure 2026 election. Stay vigilant, make sure you are registered by October 5th, and lock in your plan to vote: Arizona.vote

What does the ruling about the SAVE database means nationally? The Election Safeguards Response Network (ESRN)  (https://esrn.net) put out a statement:

Today’s Supreme Court decision opens the door to real harm in future elections — it allows

states to use a flawed federal system to scan the voter rolls — and we will keep fighting it.

But here’s what you need to know: federal law bars states from mass-removing voters this close

to an election. This ruling doesn’t change the outcome of this election. The outcome of this

election is up to the voters. Because in America, voters choose their leaders, not the other way

around.

If you want peace of mind, take two minutes to check your voter registration at vote.org or on

your state election office’s website. If anything looks wrong, contact your county election official.

Then, get together with your family and friends and make your plan to vote in whatever way

works best for you: early in-person, on Election Day, via drop-box, or by mail. And if you are

voting by mail, make sure to request and return your ballot as soon as possible.

And more:

TALKING POINTS

• For the next 40 days, states may use this system to conduct only individual checks for voter eligibility. If you’re concerned this could affect you somehow, take two minutes to check your voter registration is up to date by visiting vote.org or checking with your county election office

• After the midterm elections, states will be able to use this deeply flawed system to conduct bulk systematic checks of voter rolls using unreliable and incomplete federal data sets. We will keep fighting back against this reckless decision.

• As we look ahead to 2028, this is a clear attempt by the regime to block voters from voting, and votes from counting. This is a naked power grab: they are trying to seize control of elections so they can control the outcome. We’ve got a fight ahead of us to protect our freedom to vote in the 2028 elections, and we’re ready to fight it.

• Right now, voters should focus on checking their registration is up to date, making their plan to vote, and making sure their friends and families have plans to vote. The best way to protect our freedom to vote is to turn out in record numbers.

■ WHAT WE KNOW

• On Friday, the Supreme Court allowed the federal government to implement modifications to the controversial SAVE system and permitted states to use it to verify the citizenship status of individual registered voters.

• At issue is the Trump administration's March 2025 Executive Order overhauling the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system. This system is a decades-old government database originally built to verify immigration status for benefits eligibility. The order attempts to turn it into a national citizenship-verification tool for elections.

• DHS incorporated Social Security data into SAVE and screened 65–67 million voter registrations, flagging thousands as potential noncitizens — many of whom turned out to be citizens.

• In League of Women Voters v. DHS, a federal district court ruled that the 2025 modifications to the SAVE system were unlawful. The administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene, and in today’s decision, they paused the district court’s order and allowed the federal government to move forward with the 2025 modifications to SAVE.

• Again, this decision will not cause material change to the voter experience or election administration in 2026. Federal law still prohibits states from engaging in mass purges of voter registrations during the last 90 days before a federal election.

■ WHAT IT MEANS

• Using error-prone federal databases to flag "noncitizen" voters can wrongly purge citizens from the rolls, even though actual noncitizen voting is exceedingly rare to begin with.

• However, federal law prohibits election officials from systematically purging voters within 90 days of a federal election. In today’s decision, the Court confirmed this federal law still applies.

• States will be able to use SAVE for larger voter roll checks after the midterms are completed, when we are out of the 90-day quiet period. This resource must be used exclusively to advance nonpartisan purposes and activities.

• Voters should continue to check their registration to make sure it’s up to date, and make a plan to vote in whatever way is best for their lives — whether that’s early in person, on Election Day, via dropbox or in-person delivery, or by mail. Anyone voting by mail should be sure to request and return their ballot as soon as possible.

■ WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING

• Legal partners are staying vigilant and ensuring election officials do not use today’s ruling as pretext to violate the federal law banning mass voter purges within 90 days of an election. Going forward, we will keep fighting back against this reckless decision.

• State-based partners are working with election officials to ensure they have the most up to date information on what is and is not required following today’s decision.

■ WHAT YOU CAN DO

1. Take two minutes to check your registration at vote.org
2. Make a plan to vote by visiting vote411.org or 866ourvote.org
3. Call the Election Protection Hotline with questions or to report any incidents during early vote or on election day: 866-OUR-VOTE / 866-687-8683 ■

KEY RESOURCES • Learn more about this litigation from the League of Women Voters and Democracy Forward • Learn more about the federal government’s overhaul of the SAVE system from Institute for Responsive Government and Campaign Legal Center

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The bill’s wording makes clear that it wants the state to tackle the issue of human smuggling or drug trafficking or “any act of terrorism”.  But check out the sneaky part...

Here’s the Scary Parts about Proposition 317:

*a cartel is very loosely defined as any group that gets together

* “human smuggling” could be defined as any help for immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees - even done by churches and charities

*Right now, in Arizona, the governor and attorney general are not on-board with the hard-right agenda against immigrants - but that could change with any election.

What’s the Silly Part About Proposition 317?

* Arizona already cooperates with the federal government with programs to tackle drug trafficking and human smuggling.

* The bill seeks to “empower the Arizona department of homeland security” to fight cartels. This is a state department that basically handles law enforcement grants from the federal government and distributes them to counties, cities and other state offices. So basically … it’s already doing that.

States Haven’t Persecuted Churches and Ministries YET, Have They?

Well, it has already started in states like Texas and Florida, where the governors follow another agenda. These measures are just testing the waters to gauge public pushback on prosecuting charities for helping immigrants.

* Texas has gone after Catholic charities and aid groups: (read up about Annunciation House in Texas)

* Florida’s SB 1718: Enacted sweeping restrictions, including provisions making it a third-degree felony to knowingly transport an undocumented immigrant into the state—a measure that created severe liability risks for shelters, churches, and volunteer groups carrying out routine transportation to clinics, schools or or shelters.

* Multiple states have passed bills that force heavy financial reporting on how much aid, transportation, or enrollment assistance that nonprofits provide to non-citizens - and cut back on funding to these aid groups.

Civic Engagement Beyond Voting Points out:

This measure takes the empty, performative step of declaring that drug cartels are terrorist organizations. It is critical that we understand this for what it is: not a contribution to public safety, but a messaging move in line with efforts by the current federal administration to frame desperate migration as “invasion” by “animals” and to convince voters that terrorists are massing at our southern border. Prop 317 will connect cartels to terrorism in the public’s imagination, helping supercharge the dangerous militarization of the border while doing nothing to solve the actual problem of drug trafficking.

The broad, sloppy sweep of Prop 317 could carry unintended consequences for victims of human trafficking.

See: https://weekly.cebv.us/arizonas-2026-ballot-propositions/

The Brennan Center warns about how folks who have NOTHING to do with cartels or human smuggling - like volunteers at your local church helping asylum seekers - could be targeted:

Worse, such a sweeping net inevitably will ensnare and inflict devastating harms on large numbers of both migrants and U.S. residents and citizens who have little to no connection to drug trafficking or human smuggling, let alone terrorism.

See: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/dangerous-sweep-trumps-plan-designate-cartels-terrorist-organizations

In the same way, ministries who help get gang members off the streets could be targeted as aiding gangs.

ACTION ITEM: Share with members of your faith community. Vote NO on Prop. 317 and ALL 8 sneaky, sneaky state propositions numbered 100-300 on the ballot in November.  Click on image to download to your device and share. Copy and paste the text below

For more information: https://azfemmeaction.substack.com/p/proposition-317-what-is-the-sneaky

Maricopa County voting election locations for Nov 2026 are now posted up ... kinda.

Action item: download and get the word out in your neighborhood groups, social media feeds and public and private social media groups.

Maricopa County Recorder (and election conspiracist) has fulfilled the letter of the law requiring him to post the election locations. He did so ... but not the easiest to navigate or download!

Find the voting center locations here: https://elections.maricopa.gov/asset/jcr:097d0af6-5bda-40fd-959d-571a7c423bad/2026%20Nov.%20General%20Election%20Voting%20Sites%20Schedule.xlsx

...other county GOP recorders in Arizona have made a good effort to get the information out with easy-to-navigate online lists, flyers, postcards and the like fyi.

Register to vote by Oct. 5.

And vote NO on Prop. 141 that will take away mail-in voting and early voting.

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2026 Arizona Voter Guides

Ballots start mailing October 7, and voter registration closes October 5 at 11:59 PM! Here are the voter guides collected so far, grouped by who put them out. All of these are free, and several have printable versions if you want to share them with family or neighbors.

Please feel free to also share your own voter guides or ones I may have missed.

The voter guides sourced below are from trusted pro-democracy (small d) organizations across Arizona:

Civic Engagement Beyond Voting (CEBV)

• 2026 Ballot Guide — state propositions, judicial retentions, statewide offices
• 2026 Gavel Watch — judicial retention recommendations, with a one-page printable summary

Save Our Schools Arizona (SOSAZ)

• Vote 4 Public Education — main hub
• Legislative District Endorsements
• School Board Endorsements
• Proposition Recommendations
• Bond & Override Information
• Props 101: The Bad & the Ugly — Props 320, 318, 144, and 142

No on Prop 320 PAC

• No on Prop 320 — the school spending mandate

Arizona Agenda

• Arizona's Worst Judges — they read the performance review data so you don't have to

Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review

• 2026 Judicial Performance Reports — the official source, all 82 judges

Progress Arizona

• 2026 Progress Scorecard — how your current lawmakers voted, not a ballot guide
• AZVoterRegistration.com

Arizona Secretary of State

• My.Arizona.Vote — register, check your registration, request a mail ballot, track it

Progress Arizona's 2026 Progressive Voter Guide isn't out yet. They said closer to November.

ADDED:

- www.bluevoterguide.org

- if you prefer to view this on a website, I put this together for our community: Resources

- Pima County Dem Party: Pima County Democratic Party personalized Voter Guide | PimaVote.com

Submit your election questions to Votebeat reporters, and they’ll answer them live on Sept. 15 at 10 a.m.

Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter to get the latest.

Will the 2026 midterms happen? Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Elections happen because thousands of local officials follow state and local laws requiring them to happen — and history shows they’ve done so before, even under immense pressure. The greater danger isn’t no election, but one that’s chaotic, unfairly challenged, or deliberately cast as illegitimate after the fact.

Got more questions about the midterms? Submit them to Votebeat reporters with your RSVP, and they’ll give you the long answer live on Sept. 15 at 1 p.m EDT. (10 a.m. Phoenix time)

Votebeat is a nonprofit newsroom specialized in explaining how elections work. Each of our reporters and editors spend every day covering voting rules, election administration, misinformation, election lawsuits, local officials, and the systems that determine how ballots are cast and counted. Ask them anything!

Watch the event recording of our previous Q&A event here.

This is for self-advocates, caregivers, parents, and industry partners. If disability policy touches your life in any way, you belong in this room.

Just a note here about how the severely mentally ill need advocacy: Psychiatric disabilities experience SEVERE discrimination in Arizona. Our loved ones are 36 times more likely to be incarcerated than receive long-term hospitalization. We have among the fewest state hospital beds in the country. We have almost no insanity defense options, especially in Maricopa County. We have no long-term care for SMI, no caregiver benefits or respite, no home and community-based services, and 6,000 individuals with SMI designation without a roof. Simply put: our lawmakers are responsible.

Ask our lawmakers HARD QUESTIONS.

To register for the events:

Republican Event on THU 9/24 click HERE.

Democrat Event on TUE 10/6 click HERE.

This event is sponsored by the Raising Voices Coalition, an organization that has led reforms under Arizona's Department of Developmental Disabilities (DDD).

👀👀ACTION ITEM - Share this List and Information for Your state Legislative District - get the word out on your own socials and community groups

Turning Point has millions to spend on local candidates in Arizona (and other states). Here's the list of local and state legislative candidates that TPUSA is backing in the November election ... and get the word out about how out-of-state monies is funding these candidates ...

From AZ Central recent article:

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/09/08/turning-point-fundraising-soars-year-after-charlie-kirk-died/91618099007/

CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES

Matt Evans — Candidate for Phoenix City Council District 2

Danny Mazza — Candidate for Phoenix City Council District 2

Julie Read — Candidate for Phoenix City Council District 2

Aleks Vranicic — Candidate for Mesa City Council District 5

SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES

Heather Rooks — Candidate for Peoria USD School Board

Desiree Byrne — Candidate for Peoria USD School Board

>STATE LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATES

• LD-01:(Northern AZ)
  • Selina Bliss — Candidate for LD-01 House (Counties: Coconino, Yavapai)
  • Mark Finchem — Candidate for LD-01 Senate (Counties: Coconino, Yavapai)
• LD-02:(North Central Phoenix)
  • Justin Wilmeth — Candidate for LD-02 House (County: Maricopa)
  • Shawnna Bolick — Candidate for LD-02 Senate (County: Maricopa)
• LD-03:(NE Phx, Cave Creek, Fountain Hills, New River)
  • Cody Reim — Candidate for LD-03 House (County: Maricopa)
  • George Khalaf — Candidate for LD-03 House (County: Maricopa)
  • John Kavanaugh — Candidate for LD-03 Senate (County: Maricopa)
• LD-04:(NE Phx, Scottsdale)
  • Matt Gress — Candidate for LD-04 House (County: Maricopa)
  • Pamela Carter — Candidate for LD-04 House (County: Maricopa)
  • Carine Werner — Candidate for LD-04 Senate (County: Maricopa)
• LD-05:(Central Phoenix)
  • Alberto Gutier III — Candidate for LD-05 House (County: Maricopa)
• LD-07: (Flagstaff, Northeast AZ)
  • Wendy Rogers — Candidate for LD-07 Senate (Counties: Coconino, Gila, Navajo, Pinal)
• LD-09:(Mesa, Tempe)
  • Bridget Fitzgibbons — Candidate for LD-09 Senate (County: Maricopa)
• LD-10: North Mesa, East Mesa, and West Apache Junction 
  • Justin Olson — Candidate for LD-10 House (Counties: Maricopa, Pinal)
  • James Rogers — Candidate for LD-10 House (Counties: Maricopa, Pinal)
  • David Farnsworth — Candidate for LD-10 Senate (Counties: Maricopa, Pinal)
• LD-12:Ahwatukee (Phoenix), southwest Tempe, northwest/west Chandler
  • David Richardson — Candidate for LD-12 House (County: Maricopa)
• LD-13: Chandler, Sun Lakes, Gilbert
  • Julie Willoughby — Candidate for LD-13 Senate (County: Maricopa)
• LD-14: Gilbert, San Tan Valley
  • Tyler Farnsworth — Candidate for LD-14 House (County: Maricopa)
  • Laurin Hendrix — Candidate for LD-14 House (County: Maricopa)
  • Mylie Biggs — Candidate for LD-14 Senate (County: Maricopa)
• LD-15:Queen Creek, San Tan Valley, East Mesa
  • Michael Way — Candidate for LD-15 House (Counties: Maricopa, Pinal)
  • Neal Carter — Candidate for LD-15 House (Counties: Maricopa, Pinal)
  • State Senator Jake Hoffman — Candidate for LD-15 Senate (Counties: Maricopa, Pinal)
• LD-16: Casa Grande
  • Chris Lopez — Candidate for LD-16 House (Counties: Maricopa, Pima, Pinal)
  • Teresa Martinez — Candidate for LD-16 House (Counties: Maricopa, Pima, Pinal)
  • Thomas Shope — Candidate for LD-16 Senate (Counties: Maricopa, Pima, Pinal)
• LD-17:Oro Valley, Marana
  • Rachel Keshel — Candidate for LD-17 House (Counties: Pima, Pinal)
• LD-18: Tucson, Pima County
  • Bob Dohse — Candidate for LD-18 House (County: Pima)
• LD-19:Southeast AZ
  • Lupe Diaz — Candidate for LD-19 House (Counties: Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Santa Cruz)
  • David Gowan — Candidate for LD-19 House (Counties: Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Santa Cruz)
  • Gail Griffin — Candidate for LD-19 Senate (Counties: Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Santa Cruz)
• LD-23:Yuma, Southwest Arizona
  • Michele Peña — Candidate for LD-23 House (Counties: Maricopa, Pima, Pinal, Yuma)
  • Michelle Altherr — Candidate for LD-23 Senate (Counties: Maricopa, Pima, Pinal, Yuma)
• LD-25: Buckeye, Surprise, and Waddell, Yuma County
  • Michael Carbone — Candidate for LD-25 House (Counties: Maricopa, Yuma)
  • Timothy Dunn — Candidate for LD-25 Senate (Counties: Maricopa, Yuma)
• LD-27:Northwest Maricopa County, including parts of northwest Phoenix, northern Glendale, and parts of Peoria
  • Lisa Fink — Candidate for LD-27 House (County: Maricopa)
  • Tony Rivero — Candidate for LD-27 House (County: Maricopa)
  • Kevin Payne — Candidate for LD-27 Senate (County: Maricopa)
• LD-28:Southern and Western AZ
  • Beverly Pingerelli — Candidate for LD-28 House (County: Maricopa)
  • David Livingston — Candidate for LD-28 House (County: Maricopa)
  • Frank Carroll — Candidate for LD-28 Senate (County: Maricopa)
• LD-29: West Valley, Surprise, El Mirage, Youngtown 
  • Steve Montenegro — Candidate for LD-29 House (County: Maricopa)
  • James Taylor — Candidate for LD-29 House (County: Maricopa)
  • Janae Shamp — Candidate for LD-29 Senate (County: Maricopa)
• LD-30: Northeastern AZ
  • David Rose — Candidate for LD-30 House (Counties: La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave)
  • Leo Biasiucci — Candidate for LD-30 Senate (Counties: La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave)

So Elon's $$$ is coming to Arizona....

Share this article to get the word out about how Elon Musk is spending $$$ in the

• the Feely/Shaw race in Congressional District 1 (Northern Phoenix, Cave Creek, Paradise ValleY)
• Ciscomani in his race against Mendoza in the Congressional District 6 (Tucson, Southern Arizona).

https://coppercourier.com/news/politics/elon-musk-super-pac-spends-in-az

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Arizona families - please get the word out about the changes coming to Medicaid - which is health care for very low-income people, people with chronic, disabling illness, developmentally delayed and severely mentally ill, as well as their family caregivers. 🧨🧨📍📍 Post on private social media groups for the disabled. Share with friends and family members. Post on your community social groups like NextDoor, Ring and the like! 🧨🧨📍📍

*** if your loved one struggles with cognitive or severe mental health issues - this is very important to know so you can help them through the paperwork. This population has been the first to lose health care in Arizona***

Our regime passed big changes to health care programs - now requiring a lot more paperwork and filing online BUT also cutting back on these programs support services (so it is much harder to get help or file reviews). We have already seen this happen with the Arizona EBT nutrition assistance - where almost half of the folks on EBT have been kicked off. Medicaid changes started in other states are already removing many families off of health care.

• Go to: https://keepmyahcccs.com/ and review all the requirements with your loved one
• Call out the Congressmen in Arizona on social media with their social media handles. Ask the congressmen who voted for the Big UGLY Bill: WHY?

(source: Arizona Mad Moms): Additional changes to Medicaid coming in 2027 are likely to increase risks of inappropriate Medicaid cancellations:

• Medicaid renewal frequency will be increasing from annual redetermination to every 6 months.
• Work or community engagement requirements will be imposed on Arizona's Medicaid expansion population: approximately 500,000 low-income adults who qualify for Medicaid based on income rather than through a traditional eligibility category (such as disability).
• No dedicated funding was provided to fully offset the administrative costs of implementing more frequent renewals and new work requirement processes.

Well-meaning changes come with unintended consequences:

The people most likely to lose Medicaid coverage are not those whom policymakers intended to target. Instead, they are individuals who:

• Have untreated psychosis
• Have cognitive impairment
• Have executive dysfunction
• Are homeless
• Have severe depression
• Are in the middle of an SSI application
• Simply cannot respond to mailed notices.

Those individuals often already qualify for Medicaid with exemptions from work requirements. The problem is that they cannot successfully navigate the paperwork required to establish, document, or maintain their Medicaid eligibility.

In Arizona, Medicaid is administered through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), pronounced "access." Many people receive their Medicaid benefits through managed care plans such as Mercy Care, United Healthcare Community Plan, or the American Indian Health Plan (AIHP), so their insurance card may never actually say "Medicaid."

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Hey all, I have never seen this many events on the calendar before. There are well over 500 just THIS WEEK alone. Most of them are Get Out the Vote (GOTV) activities like door knocking and phonebanks but also include mutual aid, protests, and trainings. For those who prefer to stay inside and still help - there are textbanks, zoom calls, letters to be signed, action alerts to share and so much more.

If you are enjoying the Hub please share it with some friends or family. Our movement is grassroots and led from the ground up so please spread the word. ✌️

Turns out ... the Proposition will hit all schools - from elementary to college level. Private, charter and public. And sports associations. 

https://no318.vote/ spells it out - and the expenses that this will mean for local sports programs that will have to deal with legal expenses, frivolous lawsuits and angry families who will need to pay more to participate in sports.

please Share with friends and family who love Arizona school sports. Copy and paste and share on your own socials, Facebook, NextDoor and Ring groups.

The site points out that the Prop already covers a law that was passed in 2022 to keep out transgender athletes - but then piles on a poop-ton of expenses and legal fights for sports groups and all schools.

https://preview.redd.it/bw6jbl5nssnh1.png?width=837&format=png&auto=webp&s=597201a6b6f3a35768b0d99d13e086aa75445460

As for spaces ... the Proposition covers "spaces that are integral to athletic engagement," which makes it very ambiguous ...

https://preview.redd.it/k3hiozofssnh1.png?width=1012&format=png&auto=webp&s=1a8f86023c34bce7f1722049021bbbd0c3a2dd9a

(note - no exceptions for disabled people with caregivers, parents with small children, medical emergencies or maintenance repairs when the opposiite sex might need to be in these spaces) ...

And talking points ...

Talking points

Use two, not seven. People remember two.

1. Arizona already has this law for school sports. Prop 318 is about club leagues, private schools, colleges, and locker rooms. Voting no changes nothing about the current ban.
2. No official document says how many kids this is about. Not the measure, not the state’s own impartial analysis of it. An enormous legal apparatus for an unknown handful of children.
3. It defines sex by a document from the day you were born, and makes a lawfully corrected birth certificate irrelevant – whether it was corrected because a kid is trans or because they are intersex and the original entry was wrong.
4. Excluding a kid is legally free. Including one is not. Schools respond to that the way anyone would.
5. It pays people who object and win. Damages plus attorney fees for an athlete who prevails on a claim of direct or indirect harm.
6. Volunteer leagues become potential defendants. Nobody running a rec league asked for this.