Sep 28 - Oct 4 · Sunburnt & Stubborn

Welcome, and thanks for being here. For our new readers: Arizona Advocacy Hub is the go-to place for progressive action in Arizona. We collect what organizations around the state are doing each week and put it in one place, so finding a way to help your community is easy.

This is the last full week before early ballots go out, and three groups are using it to walk voters through the ballot: Save Our Schools Arizona Network and the Arizona PTA online September 30, Pinal County Democrats in Apache Junction the same night, and Civic Engagement Beyond Voting at a theater in Patagonia October 3. Common Cause Arizona is also holding poll monitor trainings in Camp Verde, Flagstaff and Prescott.

Know anyone who recently turned 18? Encourage them to register to vote (link below)! Voter registration closes October 5 at 11:59 PM, just over a week out. Early voting opens October 7 and runs through October 30, and the last day to request an early ballot is October 23.

If you only do one thing this week

Ballot Proposition Forum · September 30 · Virtual
Save Our Schools Arizona Network and the Arizona PTA host a Zoom webinar at 6:30 PM on four ballot propositions that affect public schools, students, educators and democracy. Speakers come from the Arizona School Boards Association, Creosote Partners, Protect the Vote and the ACLU. It takes place one week before early ballots go out on October 7. Anyone with an internet connection can join from anywhere in the state, and attendees listen rather than speak. The organizers have not listed an end time. Virtual, statewide, evening, sitting down.

Five minutes or less

☐ Check and update your voter registration. Registration closes October 5 at 11:59 PM, and anyone who has moved or changed their email needs the record to match. Update at AZVoterRegistration.com. If something goes wrong registering or voting, the Election Protection hotline is 866-OUR-VOTE, with 888-VE-Y-VOTA in Spanish and 888-777-3831 for Native voters.

☐ Request your early ballot. Early voting opens October 7 and the request deadline is October 23. Check your registration and Active Early Voter List status at my.arizona.vote, and sign up for ballot status alerts at Trackmyballot.azsos.gov. Mail ballots already travel as first class mail, so the meme telling voters to add a stamp is false.

☐ Sign the letter on Medicare Part D premiums. CMS is ending the Part D premium stabilization program after 2026, and an administration official acknowledged about half of the roughly 25 million enrollees who rely on it will pay more. Sign here.

Civic Engagement & Democracy

Canvasses and phone banks

Evening Knock and Pizza in Flagstaff · October 1 · Flagstaff
Jonathan Nez for Congress knocks doors from 4:00 to 7:30 PM, then volunteers meet up with organizers and staff for pizza. The campaign says first-time volunteers get what they need before heading out. Address sent after registration. Outdoors, evening, training provided, first-timer friendly.

Call Voters in CD1 with Ground Truth · October 3 · Virtual
Swing Left runs a phone bank from 1:00 to 3:30 PM calling voters in Arizona's 1st Congressional District. The group says callers reach voters of every leaning, listen to their concerns, and share what they hear with campaigns. Virtual.

Knock Doors in Kingman · October 4 · Kingman
Copper State Victory canvasses in Kingman from 9:00 AM to noon, and an organizer reaches out after sign-up to confirm details. The location is kept private until volunteers are confirmed. Outdoors, morning.

Voter Registration drives

Voter Registration at Scottsdale Community College · September 30 · Scottsdale
Stand Indivisible AZ registers students on the covered patio outside Artie's Cafe from 8:45 to 11:00 AM, and again October 1 from 10:45 AM to 1:00 PM. The group runs the same drive at Paradise Valley Community College both days, 10:45 AM to 1:00 PM. Outdoors, morning, two shifts.

Don't Ghost the Polls · October 1 · Phoenix
AZ AANHPI for Equity opens its Spooky Szn series with a voter registration drive from 6:00 to 7:30 PM, together with Casa Caracol and Palabras Bilingual Bookstore. Address sent after registration. Evening.

Vote Rock at Slope Night Market · October 2 · Phoenix
Fuerte Arts Movement combines live music with a final registration push at the Sunnyslope art walk from 5:00 to 9:00 PM. Address sent after registration. Evening.

Meetings and trainings

Prescott Indivisible October Meeting · October 1 · Prescott
Prescott Indivisible meets at Granite Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. Artist and writer Kelli Klymenko talks about how ordinary people build democratic power, drawing on his experience as a first-generation Ukrainian American. Indoors, evening, sitting down.

Corporation Commission Candidates Forum · October 2 · Phoenix
Opportunity Arizona hosts a free, nonpartisan forum from 5:00 to 7:00 PM with candidates for the Arizona Corporation Commission, the statewide elected body that sets utility rates. All ballot-qualified candidates were invited on equal terms, and food is provided. The listing does not name a venue. Evening, refreshments.

Ballot Propositions Presentation · October 3 · Patagonia
Santa Cruz Valley Democrats host Civic Engagement Beyond Voting at the Tin Shed Theatre from 2:00 to 3:00 PM for a nonpartisan explanation of the propositions, including what each would do if passed. The session is livestreamed on We Love Nogales' YouTube and Facebook channels. Indoors, one hour, or watch online.

Also this week: Rural Arizona Engagement asks residents to attend the Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission October 1 at 6:00 PM, when it votes on a permit for a 945-acre, nine-building data center campus west of town. Coconino County Democrats prepare and serve food at the Flagstaff Family Food Center October 1 from 3:30 to 6:00 PM, part of a monthly volunteer shift.

Rallies and visibility

End the Corruption, No More Wars · October 1 · Casas Adobes
Stop the Coup, AZ holds signs at Ina Road and La Cholla Boulevard from 4:00 to 6:00 PM, two weeks before the October 17 No Kings: Vote Early events. Vote-focused signs and costumes are welcome. Outdoors, evening, two hours.

Scottsdale Honk and Wave · October 2 · Scottsdale
The AZ-01 MoveOn Cohort holds signs at East Shea Boulevard and North 90th Street from 8:00 to 9:00 AM. Outdoors, morning, one hour.

Gila Dems Rally to Get Out the Vote · October 3 · Payson
Gila County Democrats line Highway 87 outside their Payson headquarters from 8:30 to 10:00 AM with signs encouraging people to vote. The group chose the date because it falls four days before early voting begins. Outdoors, morning.

Also this week: two sign-making sessions ahead of October 17. Nogales Santa Cruz County Indivisible hosts sign-making and conversation in Rio Rico October 1 from 12:30 to 4:30 PM, and Mesa Valley Indivisible runs a sign, bracelet and pin making session in Mesa October 3 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

Voting Rights

Three groups are training poll monitors and observers ahead of November 3, with sessions in northern Arizona, the West Valley and central Phoenix.

Poll Monitor Training in Camp Verde · September 30 · Camp Verde
Common Cause Arizona trains nonpartisan Election Protection poll monitors at the Camp Verde Community Library from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. It is one of several trainings Common Cause is holding across rural northern Arizona. The same training runs in Flagstaff October 3, 1:00 to 3:00 PM, and Prescott October 4, 2:00 to 4:00 PM. Indoors, evening, two hours, training provided.

Poll Observer Training (Maryvale) · October 1 · Phoenix
Copper State Victory trains poll observers for the general election from 6:30 to 8:30 PM in the West Valley. Observers have to be registered Arizona voters, and the address is sent after registration. Evening, two hours, training provided.

Become a Constitutional Observer · October 2 · Phoenix
LUCHA ACE trains community members at its 12th Street office from 5:30 to 6:30 PM to recognize voter intimidation and misinformation at voting locations, and to document and report it properly. The event listing is written in English and Spanish. One hour, training provided.

Also this week: Pinal County Democrats hold a Ballot Bash voter information night in Apache Junction September 30 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, with an emphasis on early voting.

Education

With the Protect Education Act off the November ballot, Save Our Schools Arizona is focused on legislative races and on its local Community Action Teams.

North Phoenix Community Canvass · October 3 · Phoenix
Save Our Schools Arizona knocks doors from 9:00 AM to noon for Public School Proud candidates Rep. Stephanie Simacek and Amelia Galitano. Drivers and canvassers are both needed, canvassers always go with a partner, and the listing says first timers are welcome. More shifts follow October 4. Outdoors, morning, first-timer friendly.

West Valley and North Phoenix CAT Chat · October 4 · Virtual
Save Our Schools Arizona's local Community Action Team meets over Zoom from 6:00 to 7:00 PM for public education news and a chance to meet other public school supporters in the area. Virtual, evening, one hour.

Labor & Workers' Rights

Two labor organizations are running get-out-the-vote canvasses for candidates who support workers' right to a union.

Labor 2026 Volunteer Canvass · Daily through October 4 · Phoenix
The Arizona AFL-CIO canvasses every day this week, with shifts starting at 10:00 AM, 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM, or volunteers can drop in. A Tucson canvass runs on the same schedule. Address sent after registration. Runs daily, drop in anytime.

AFGE District 12 Labor Walks · October 3 · Tucson
The American Federation of Government Employees knocks doors from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM for candidates who support union values, and walks again October 4 from 5630 E Pima St, same hours. Outdoors.

Every week in Arizona

These happen every week, so they're collected here instead of in the sections above.

• Rush-Hour Resistance Rallies, weekday morning and evening rush hours at several locations across the Phoenix metro. Current locations at RhRR.us.
• MAGA Shave Roadside Sign Protests, 7:30 to 8:45 AM on several weekday mornings (September 29 to October 1 this week), rotating corners around Tucson, Marana and Casas Adobes. Details.
• Eyes on ICE Vigil, weekly 5:00 to 6:30 PM (September 28 this week), Flagstaff, across from the ICE office on South Plaza Way. Details.
• Caffeinate & Activate, weekly 9:30 to 11:00 AM (September 30 this week), Phoenix, coffee with Desert Democracy at 7 Leaves Cafe. Details.
• Freedom Rings Indivisible Discussion Group, weekly 6:00 to 8:00 PM (October 1 this week), Tempe. Details.
• White Mountains Weekly Rally, weekly at 4:00 PM (October 2 this week), Show Low, thirty minutes on the corner. Details.
• Yuma Weekly Rally, weekly 9:00 to 10:00 AM (October 3 this week), Yuma, at 4th Avenue and 16th Street. Details.

Volunteer as a poll monitor with Election Protection Arizona. The nonpartisan coalition is recruiting volunteers statewide to stand outside vote centers and polling places and spot and report problems.

• What to do: Sign up for an in-person or Zoom training at ElectionProtectionAZ.org. Volunteers get full instructions and are matched with a polling place shift, and most work in pairs.

Knock on your own neighbors' doors with Neighbor2Neighbor. The program hands each volunteer a list of 10 progressive-leaning neighbors, a short script and a leave-behind to knock on their own time. Indivisible Northern AZ is running it in the 2nd Congressional District, and Northwest Valley Indivisible has a separate sign-up for down-ballot races in the Northwest Valley.

• What to do: Sign up through Indivisible's national page or Northwest Valley Indivisible's form.

Read the fine print on Props 320, 318, 144 and 142. Save Our Schools Arizona says these four measures, all referred to the ballot by the legislature, carry titles that do not describe what they do. Prop. 320 would force large districts to spend at least 60 percent of their operating budget on direct instruction or lose Classroom Site Fund dollars, and Prop. 144 would write a voter ID requirement for in-person and mail ballots into the state constitution.

• What to do: Read the Legislature's official analyses of the 2026 ballot measures, look up the Prop. 320 details at NoOn320.com, and share what you learn before ballots go out October 7.

Check the judges before you vote on retention. Voters in Maricopa, Pima, Pinal and Coconino counties decide whether sitting judges keep their seats. Civic Engagement Beyond Voting's 2026 Gavel Watch report gives a recommendation and its reasoning for each judge up for retention.

• What to do: Read the Gavel Watch report before filling out the judicial section of your ballot.

Thanks for being here and I'll see you next week, patriots! All politics is local. So is the resistance.

Arizona Advocacy Hub is a grassroots operation run by June, a concerned Arizonan. If this roundup is useful to you, consider upgrading to a paid subscription to help keep it going.