Public Policy Positions are the foundation of League advocacy—and member voice is essential.   As LWVUS fast-tracks positions for confirmation at the 2026 National Convention, LWVAZ is hosting two Public Policy Positions Bootcamps to engage members statewide.

Under the theme Women Defend Democracy: Democracy Under Siege, members will explore proposed national positions, discuss emerging priorities, and prepare to submit input through the LWVUS survey.

Bootcamp Dates (Choose One).Open to all members. Your participation helps shape the League’s national advocacy agenda.

• Sunday, February 8 | 2:00–3:30 p.m.
  Register:  LWVAZ Public Policy Positions Bootcamp for the 2026 National Convention - 2/8/2026

•  Wednesday, February 11 | 6:00–7:30 p.m.
  Register:  LWVAZ Public Policy Positions Bootcamp for the 2026 National Convention - 2/11/2026

Join Us for LWVAZ’s 2026 Annual Legislative Lobby Week

February 22–28, 2026

The Arizona Legislature is back in session—and so is the League’s premier advocacy event. Join us for the 2026 LWVAZ Annual Legislative Lobby Week, a week of learning, connection, and action designed to deepen your understanding of Arizona’s legislative process and strengthen the League’s impact at the Capitol. This year’s program combines in-person advocacy with a full slate of virtual Lunch & Learn sessions, making it easy to participate in meaningful civic engagement that fits your schedule. (Read full Article further down in newsletter)

Register for Legislative Week events using this link. https://linktr.ee/lwvazlunchandlearn

• Sunday, February 22 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.  The First Amendment & Freedom of the Press (Webinar)

• Monday, February 23, 12:00-1:30 p.m.   What the 2024 Vote Tells Us About 2026 - Presentation by America Votes  (Webinar)

• Tuesday, February 24, 12:00–1:30 p.m. Protecting Voter Rolls from Administrative Overreach Presentation By Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes  (Webinar)

• Wednesday, February 25,  9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Registration deadline Feb 17. Legislative Lobby Day At the Capitol Members Only Event- Please check your confirmation email for additional details.

• Thursday February 26, |12-1:30 p.m.  Education in Arizona  (Webinar)

• Friday February 27 |12-1:30 p.m.  How the Legislative Process Works  (Webinar)

•  Saturday, February 28 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.  One Person, One Vote  (Webinar)

Urgent Notice:  Call all Arizona Legislators to vote no on HB2022.

HB2022 is being fast tracked for floor vote at the Arizona House.  Urge a NO vote on HB2022, which undermines Arizona’s free, fair, and accessible elections by creating unnecessary barriers that increase the rejection of eligible voters’ ballots.

HB2022 permanently shortens ballot cure timelines for July primaries by reducing the standard cure period from business days to calendar days and cutting the provisional ballot cure period from ten days to six. These changes significantly limit voters’ ability to correct ballot issues—despite the fact that a temporary shortened cure period is already in effect through 2026. There is no need to make these reductions permanent now; the Legislature could move the primary to July through a clean bill and revisit cure timelines later.

Ballot curing varies by county and voter. Many voters are notified of signature issues late in the week, and counties process ballots at different speeds. Recent Maricopa County data shows more than double the number of ballots rejected for signature mismatches in November 2025 compared to 2024—shortening cure periods will only worsen this problem.

We support moving the primary election to July, but not at the cost of eligible voters losing their right to have their ballots counted. Voters agree: a majority of Republicans, Independents, and Democrats favor maintaining or expanding ballot cure opportunities.

For these reasons we urge all Legislators to oppose HB2022.

US Senators Must Demand Oversight and Accountability of ICE activity across the nation

Call all senators. Every senator must be held accountable for the failure to provide meaningful oversight of ICE operations. The terror inflicted on communities, the expansion or continuation of funding without checks and balances, and the lack of oversight of clearly illegal actions—including the deaths of U.S. citizens—are unacceptable and cannot continue.

The House passed all of the remaining mini-omnibus bills that fund the remaining governmental agencies and departments. The chamber will be on recess next week. 

The Senate was in recess this past week. They will come back Monday January 26, and focus on passing the remaining funding bills to keep the government open after January 30. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security (including ICE, CBP, and other federal immigration agents) may delay final passage of the legislation. The funding must be tied to accountability of DHS and ICE Agents.

The US Senate returns to work on Monday January 26.  Make your calls now.  

List Of Senators Suites and telephones

Please use RTS (Request to Speak) to inform legislators if you support or oppose the bills listed below. You can also email the committee members and request your testimony and statements be entered into the public record.

League recommendations are based on research of the bills by the Legislative Analysis Issue Teams under the State Advocacy Committee. The issue teams’  reviews include analyzing the pros and cons, assessing the impact on diverse communities, and recommending support or opposition. 

NOTE: RTS closes an hour before the hearing   

2026 LWVAZ Legislative Lobby Week

👉 Register for one or all LWVAZ Legislative Week events:   https://linktr.ee/lwvazlunchandlearn

Read details for the week here

Join us for the 2026 LWVAZ Annual Legislative Lobby Week, featuring  Lobby Day at the Arizona Capitol on Wednesday, February 25, and virtual Lunch and Learn programs launching on Sunday, February 22 and ending on Saturday, February 28.

This year’s program will focus on topics of ongoing interest, such as the legislative process and how bills become law, major education issues, insights from 2024 voting patterns, current challenges to First Amendment freedom of speech, and strategies to advance the One Person, One Vote movement, the League’s initiative to address voting inequities and abolish the Electoral College.

LEGISLATIVE LOBBY DAY AT THE CAPITOL - Wednesday, February 25,  9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Legislative Lobby Day offers League members the opportunity to engage directly with Arizona’s legislative and executive leadership and to deepen their understanding of how different branches of government address the issues that affect everyday Arizonans.

LUNCH & LEARN — Advocacy and Education Virtual Events

Expanding Your Understanding of the Arizona Legislative Landscape

Join us for our popular virtual Lunch & Learn series, open to League members and the general public. These sessions feature experts in key Arizona advocacy areas, senior legislative staff, and partners who will deepen your understanding of the legislative process and guide you in effective advocacy.

All sessions are held on Zoom and begin promptly at the time for each webinar. Each event runs 60–90 minutes, Invite your friends and neighbors. Everyone is welcome!

Preparing for 2026: Vote411 and Voter Education in Action

The LWVAZ VOTE411 Steering Team has begun early planning for the extensive voter education work required for Arizona’s 2026 elections, emphasizing coordination, strong volunteer engagement, and clear systems to support VOTE411.org, the League’s nonpartisan digital Voters Guide. The team reviewed VOTE411’s core strengths—personalized ballots, candidate-specific questions written by League members, and unedited candidate responses submitted directly by candidates—and reaffirmed the importance of clear, unbiased questions that help voters distinguish among candidates. While locally tailored questions remain the goal, limited use of generic questions may be necessary for some races.

Planning for 2026 reflects the complexity of Arizona’s election landscape, spanning federal, statewide, legislative, county, municipal, and school district races, along with ballot measures. Managing candidate information, verifying often-incomplete contact data, and educating voters about election dates, down-ballot races, and ballot measures will require sustained effort. VOTE411 will continue to be integrated into a broader voter education strategy that includes ballot-measure analysis, community presentations, candidate forums, and coordinated media outreach.

To support this work, the League is developing practical volunteer tools such as a survey, countdown calendar, master content spreadsheet, and question-writing guidelines, with recruitment focused on clear roles, realistic time commitments, and flexible, mostly remote participation. Early engagement will be critical to ensuring voters receive timely, accurate, and trusted information in 2026.

Rapid Response: LWVAZ Advocacy Issue Teams Engage as the Legislature Acts

The Legislature wasted no time this session. Within days of convening, lawmakers began scheduling hearings on bills that reflect some of their highest—and most concerning—priorities. After failing to push several of these proposals past the Governor in recent years, they are back again, moving quickly and strategically.

The League of Women Voters of Arizona is meeting that urgency head-on.

Our state advocacy issue teams mobilized immediately, tracking bills as soon as they were introduced and moving at the same pace as the legislative calendar. Teams analyzed legislation, identified impacts on voters and communities, drafted clear calls to action, submitted testimony, and activated members and the public to share their views with the legislators through the Request to Speak (RTS) system. At the same time, League members amplified this work on social media to ensure accurate, nonpartisan information reached the public when it mattered most.

During week one of the session (beginning January 12), the League analyzed XX voting-rights bills. By the second week, as legislative activity accelerated,  the League issue teams shifted into high gear—conducting deep dives into X voting-rights bills and X education bills, preparing testimony, and issuing timely alerts so members could speak out before critical votes.

This is what defending democracy looks like in real time: vigilance, expertise, rapid response, and collective action. As lawmakers push forward, the League remains fully engaged—watching closely, speaking clearly, and standing firm for voters, fair elections, and accountable government.

The session has only begun. The work—and the need for public engagement—will only grow.

For League Members: 

Bylaws Amendment Proposals Accepted Through Feb. 27

One of the many important business items at LWV’s National Convention is the review and possible amendment of the LWVUS Bylaws. The amendment proposal process is now open and closes on February 27. Visit the League Management Site to learn more about the submission process — watch the recorded presentation (passcode: 9.@sug4v), review current LWVUS Bylaws, and access the submission form. Questions can be directed to the Bylaws Committee at bylaws@lwv.org.    

Power Playbook 4 - Now Available

Playbook 4: Deepening Electoral Power was released to League leaders on 1/22 and contains resources to support activities taking place from February through April 2026.  View the Playbook and accompanying activities on the League Management Site. 

Program Planning Survey Response Form - Now Available