2025 Legislative Session

Some Arizona politicians perpetuate  lies about voter fraud and lack of security in our election systems – particularly when results don’t go their way. This dishonest strategy leads to policy proposals that limit where, when, and how eligible voters can cast their ballot.

Voters pick their politicians, not the other way around. We’re prepared to fight against bills that undercut our democratic process and will advocate for a system of fair elections where all qualified voters may cast a vote and have it accurately counted. We will oppose any legislation that makes it more difficult for Arizonans to exercise their fundamental right to vote.

Some of the first bills filed in the 2025 legislative session target trangender youth. The bill sponsors made it clear that they care more about making it harder for young people to be themselves rather than focusing on policies that uplift our communities or address real problems facing Arizonans. 

Year after year, attacks on trans Arizonans have ramped up at the state capitol, but we will use every tool in our toolbox to ensure that they are afforded the same rights, liberties, and dignity as everyone else. While Governor Hobbs has used her veto pen to stop the worst bills in the past, it will take all of us to show lawmakers that Arizonans will not accept their hateful agenda against our LGBTQ+ community.

Immigrants are our co-workers, neighbors, friends, and — for many Arizonans — members of our family. The cruel anti-immigrant policy agenda of the Trump administration, and the rhetoric that fuels it, threatens the rights  and safety of all our communities. 

Already, the same fear mongering we saw in the presidential race  led to the passage of Proposition 314 here in Arizona. We have no doubt that the results from the most recent election will further embolden some state lawmakers to push for even more extreme measures that  threaten immigrants’ rights, but the ACLU of Arizona will fight back.

Arizona’s costly and inhumane criminal legal system locks too many people up for far too long. It is designed to disproportionately criminalize, incarcerate, and disenfranchise people of color and people living in poverty. We will oppose bills that criminalize addiction, homelessness, and impose harsh and unjust sentences – which do not act as a deterrent. We will support legislation that reduces the prison population, prioritizes public health solutions over incarceration, and keeps people in their communities and families together.

In our democracy, the government cannot cherry pick who can speak freely and who can’t. Freedom of speech, the press, association, assembly, and petition are a set of guarantees protected by the First Amendment. Yet, Arizona lawmakers have attempted to use their power to stifle speech that they do not agree with, and we expect to see more attacks this year. The ACLU of Arizona, along with our partners and supporters, has a strong history of stopping bills that infringe on the right to protest, to read and learn what one wants, to record the police, and more. In 2025, we will double down to make sure speech is not criminalized, weaponized, or otherwise impeded.