Grassroots groups battle federal interference to safeguard Arizona voting rights

In Arizona, the nonprofit Rural Arizona Engagement (RAZE) and allied voter-protection groups are mobilizing to expand voting centers, defend mail-in ballots and counter federal actions they say aim to suppress Latino and Indigenous voters.

Rural Arizona Engagement (RAZE), based in the desert town of Coolidge, is spearheading a campaign to broaden voter access for Arizona’s Latino and Indigenous communities by pushing for additional voting centers, drop boxes and early-voting registration drives. Activists report harassment, including threats with firearms and vehicle vandalism, as they canvass remote areas ahead of the upcoming midterms. The organization and its partners contend that President Donald Trump is using executive orders, pressure on the Election Assistance Commission and the SAVE America Act to undermine mail-in voting and to impose stricter voter-ID requirements.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has outlined emergency procedures to prevent illegal federal agents, such as ICE, from entering polling sites, while a coalition that includes the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the American Civil Liberties Union prepares legal challenges and rapid-response monitoring. Similar battles are playing out in other battleground states, where GOP-controlled legislatures are proposing bills to limit drop boxes, increase surveillance and restrict ballot-signature verification. The combined local and national resistance highlights a growing contest over election administration as the 2026 midterm elections approach.