Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) v. Hobbs

On July 18, 2022, Free Speech For People joined Campaign Legal Center on a lawsuit challenging Arizona’s anti-voter laws H.B. 2492 and H.B. 2243 and filed an amended complaint. These laws impose discriminatory burdens on Arizona voters. This complaint adds new plaintiffs, including Arizona Coalition for Change and two groups representing Native voters: The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, the San Carlos Apache Tribe. The documentary proof of residence required by H.B. 2492 is nearly impossible for Native voters to provide. Reservations often lack any residential numbered street address.

After Campaign Legal Center filed an initial lawsuit, Arizona passed another voter suppression bill, H.B. 2243, which requires local election officials to remove voters from registration rolls using outdated and inaccurate data about voters’ residency and citizenship status. This amended complaint adds a challenge to H.B. 2243 and claims that the laws violate the National Voter Registration Act and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Free Speech For People, in partnership with the law firm of Mayer Brown LLP, is pleased to join the San Carlos Apache Tribe Department of Justice, Campaign Legal Center, and Barton Mendez Soto PLLC on the legal team for this litigation.

Key Facts

Background

III

Major Case Developments and Documents

Key Facts

Caption	Living United for Change in Arizona v. Hobbs
Court	Federal District Court of Arizona
Docket No.	2:22-cv-00509-SRB
Status	Motions for Summary Judgment filed
Plaintiffs	Living United for Change in Arizona, League of United Latin American Citizens, Arizona Students’ Association, ADRC Action, The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, the San Carlos Apache Tribe, and Arizona Coalition for Change
Defendants	Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich

Background

Campaign Legal Center filed an initial lawsuit on behalf of several Arizona public interest organizations challenging Arizona’s voter suppression law, H.B. 2492. On July 18, 2022, Free Speech For People joined Campaign Legal Center on the lawsuit challenging H.B. 2492 and another voter suppression law H.B. 2243 with an amended complaint.

The documentary proof of residence required by H.B. 2492 is nearly impossible for Native voters to provide. Reservations often lack any residential numbered street address. This is why the amended complaint adds new plaintiffs, including two groups representing Native voters: The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, the San Carlos Apache Tribe. Arizona Coalition for Change also joined as a plaintiff.

After Campaign Legal Center filed the initial lawsuit, Arizona passed another voter suppression bill, H.B. 2243, which requires local election officials to remove voters from registration rolls using outdated and inaccurate data about voters’ residency and citizenship status. This amended complaint adds a challenge to H.B. 2243 and claims that the laws violate the National Voter Registration Act and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Together with the burdens imposed by H.B. 2492, these two bills will make:

voter registration rolls significantly less reliable,
result in the wrongful cancellation and removal of already registered Arizona voters,
subject naturalized U.S. citizens to criminal investigation and prosecution simply for trying to exercise their freedom to vote,
and pose near insurmountable obstacles for many Native voters seeking to register.

These laws are masked as ways to secure our elections, but Arizona’s H.B. 2492 and H.B. 2243 do not make our elections any safer. Instead, these anti-voter laws discriminate against Latino and Native voters in Arizona by making it more difficult for them to exercise their freedom to vote.