This week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the Supreme Court to uphold Arizona’s proof-of-citizenship requirements for voting.
The DOJ filed a brief in Republican National Committee, et al. v. Mi Familia Vota, et al. (case Nos. 25-1017, 25-1019, and 25-1022).
The case will determine whether the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) prohibits states from: removing noncitizens from voter rolls within 90 days of an election, requiring individuals to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections using the state registration form, and denying individuals the ability to vote by mail if they don’t provide documentary proof of citizenship.
These questions emerged from House Bills 2243 and 2492; both passed in 2022. Together, these bills require the secretary of state and county recorders to regularly review voter rolls, mandate registrants using the state registration form provide proof of citizenship, and prohibit vote by mail for federal-only voters.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the NVRA does preempt that legislation, impacting any similar citizenship proof measures taken by other states concerning their voting laws.
The federal court ruled the provisions in the Arizona laws amounted to unlawful voter suppression and were therefore unconstitutional. The court determined that voters must be allowed to vote federal ballots at least, even when they fail to provide proof of citizenship.
The respondents in the present litigation — Mi Familia Vota, Voto Latino, Arizona Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander for Equity Coalition, Democratic National Committee, and the Arizona Democratic Party — want to preempt Arizona and other states from imposing proof-of-citizenship limitations on voting.
Jesus Osete, principal deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in the DOJ announcement that the NVRA doesn’t prohibit states from removing noncitizens from voter rolls.
In its filing, the DOJ argued the lower court’s ruling conflicted with the NVRA since it would effectively render state forms into mere replicas of the federal form. States would lack the flexibility afforded by the NVRA, said the DOJ.
The DOJ filing argued that proof-of-citizenship requirements were harmonious with NVRA requirements to increase the number of eligible citizens registered to vote and ensure the maintenance of accurate and current voter rolls.
“When noncitizens with no right to shape American government vote in American elections, the ballot box no longer speaks for the People, because its tally no longer reflects their voice,” argued the DOJ.
Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14) said he was “thrilled” by the Trump administration’s intervention.
“Only U.S. citizens should vote in our elections,” said Petersen. “Excited for SCOTUS to take up this important case.”
Thrilled the Trump DOJ is backing Arizona’s proof-of-citizenship requirements! Only U.S. citizens should vote in our elections. Excited for SCOTUS to take up this important case. https://t.co/xWBiciTxjV
The Supreme Court has already overruled the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on one of the issues in 2024. The Supreme Court allowed Arizona to enforce its proof-of-citizenship requirement for state voter registration forms, but refused to allow enforcement of the requirement for those registering with federal forms.
That follows the precedent set in 2013, when the Supreme Court ruled that the NVRA prohibited Arizona from requiring proof of citizenship of those voters registering to vote with the federal voter registration form.
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Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03) again demanded that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) be abolished in her first State of the District address on Wednesday.
The address — which was not livestreamed or posted to any of Ansari’s social media accounts — was largely an indictment of President Donald Trump and his administration.
“We are living through the most corrupt and the most authoritarian administration in American history, led by a lunatic with no regard for human life,” said Ansari.
Ansari advocated for the immediate abolition of ICE. She claimed the agency was a murderous, chaotic, cruel entity lacking accountability.
“It is absolutely clear that we must do everything in our power to stop and abolish ICE as quickly as possible,” said Ansari. “Immigration enforcement [is not] locking up tens of thousands of people into what can only be described as concentration camps run by private prison companies designed to profit off of human suffering.”
The congresswoman has made similar calls for immigration enforcement abolition throughout her freshman tenure. At the Munich Security Conference in February, Ansari advocated for abolishing all immigration enforcement in addition to implementing a wealth tax and subsidizing healthcare, homeownership, and childcare.
During her State of the District, Ansari also announced her endorsement of a ballot proposal to gut universal school choice in Arizona, the Protect Education Act. Present for this recommendation were the state’s largest teacher’s union, the Arizona Education Association (AEA), and the activist group Save Our Schools Arizona.
Featured speakers at Ansari’s first State of the District were Reyna Montoya, founder and CEO of Aliento Arizona; Mike Renaud, president and CEO of Valle Del Sol; Marisol Garcia, president of the AEA; Karyleni Alburquerque, Ansari’s former ambassador for the 3rd congressional district; Dr. Matthew Whitaker, executive director of the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center; and Jake Hylton, executive director of Lookout Publications.
Andrew Simek, Ansari’s field representative and community manager, claimed in a LinkedIn post that Ansari has attended over 300 community events, hosted over a dozen town halls, logged over 1,000 volunteer hours, and engaged with over 77,000 constituents.
On that last point — it was unclear whether that total for constituents included any illegal aliens facing detainment or deportation, since Ansari has claimed this class as part of her “historically underserved and underrepresented” constituency.
Ansari disclosed during her address that she prioritized community outreach to these underserved and underrepresented populations, specifically calling out the Afghan refugees, Iranian students, and Sudanese and Asian communities.
The congresswoman also advocated for government-run pharmacies, taxation on excess profits by oil companies, expansion of government-run housing, expansion of government-subsidized rent, government subsidies for house down payments, double wages for overtime, and universal healthcare.
Ansari also laid claim to securing over $17 million in federal funding for community projects, or Community Project Funding:
$2.1 million for the city of Phoenix Fire Wildland Urban Interface;
$2 million for the Arizona State University Center for Heat Resilient Communities;
$2 million for the Arizona State University CHIPS and Domestic Manufacturing Research Initiative;
$2 million for the city of Phoenix’s Real Time Crime Center;
$2 million for the town of Guadalupe’s Biehn Colony Park Reconstruction;
$1.1 million for the city of Tolleson Wastewater Digester No. 4 Project;
$1 million for the city of Tolleson Multi-Modal Path Lighting Project;
$1 million for the Arouet Foundation’s 2026 Reentry Prosperity Model;
$1 million for the Valley Metro Community Safety Project;
$850,000 for the city of Glendale Transportation Improvements;
$830,000 for the city of Phoenix Central Arizona Shelter Services’ Single Adult Shelter Renovations;
$800,000 for the city of Phoenix Alternative Fuel Vehicle Fires Mitigation;
$580,000 for Axiom Community of Recovery’s Transition to Recovery and Reentry Program; and
$250,000 for Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Improvements
Ansari introduced 32 bills and cosponsored over 450 bills. None of her bills have advanced beyond introduction. Two bills propose to overhaul and defund ICE.
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Congressional candidate Amish Shah vowed to represent a further left faction of the Democratic Party should he be elected.
Shah made the promise during a recent candidate forum hosted by LD3 Democrats. His shift represented a reflection on his 2024 loss against Rep. David Schweikert (R-01), who is running for governor. Shah served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2019 to 2024.
Per Shah, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) told him that he was too much of a “nice guy” to win the 2024 election. The DCCC refused to endorse Shah this time around, instead endorsing his primary opponent, Marlene Galan-Woods, earlier this month.
Elites in Washington should not be meddling in this race. This election will be decided by Arizona voters, not by establishment insiders in back rooms. Here is my full statement. pic.twitter.com/ajE9J9nSIP
It appears Shah’s response was to move aggressively to the left on policy.
“I am not hesitating one bit to use my platform to be able to prosecute [President Donald Trump and Republicans] as vigorously as I can, sometimes with expletives or whatever it takes,” said Shah during the LD3 virtual forum.
Shah also promised to repeal Trump’s tax cuts for working families. He called them “abominable.”
National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ben Peteresen told The Yellow Sheet, which first reported on this virtual forum, that Shah’s statements were “radical.”
“Democrat Amish Shah said he lost because Biden and Harris were toxic, then ran even further left by calling for massive tax increases, socialism and open borders,” said Petersen.
The version of his candidacy that Shah presented on that virtual forum diverges slightly from the public version of his candidacy.
Shah has publicly claimed that he doesn’t recognize party differences and would work across the aisle to solve problems.
“When I served in the Arizona House, I didn’t see ‘Democrats’ and ‘Republicans.’ I saw problems that needed to be solved,” said Shah. “I’m running for Congress to bring that same mindset to Washington; focus on solutions, find common ground where we can, and actually deliver results that improve people’s lives.”
When I served in the Arizona House, I didn’t see “Democrats” and “Republicans.” I saw problems that needed to be solved.
That’s how we got things done; working across the aisle to pass commonsense legislation on healthcare access, public safety, and lowering costs for everyday… pic.twitter.com/xXgSu00ri1
Shah’s platform on his campaign website focuses on expanding federal healthcare, codifying abortion, ending tariffs, and increasing public school funding and teacher pay. On his “resources” page targeting primary opponent Galan-Woods, Shah promised to pass a ban on stock trading by members of Congress.
Similarly, in his failed 2024 challenge to incumbent Schweikert, Shah styled himself as an “independent” candidate — despite his consistently progressive actions in the state legislature and a past admission to his alliance with socialists.
In a town hall with the Phoenix Democratic Socialists of America and the Progressive Democrats of America in 2019, Shaw encouraged the adoption of government-run universal healthcare. Months prior to that town hall, Shah proposed replacing capitalism with socialism.
Shah received national recognition by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for successfully defending the abortion drug mifepristone against attempts to outlaw it.
Shah was also behind legislation to expand anti-discrimination laws to afford protections to gender identity and sexual orientation, and to redefine marriage within the state constitution.
Shah has funneled over $230,000 of his own money into his congressional campaign according to Federal Election Commission records. So far, Shah has raised nearly $1.9 million.
Top donors include the D.C. organizations IA Victory Fund and 314 Action Impact Slate; Illinois entrepreneur Purav Kapadia; and Chandler doctor Snehal Bhoola.
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A new analysis of housing data found that less than half of households in Arizona could afford their monthly mortgage in 2025.
A new report from the Common Sense Institute (CSI) determined that only 42% of Arizona households could afford their mortgages last year.
In 2019, 66% of Arizona households could afford their monthly mortgages.
The report also found that the state faces a 56,000-unit housing shortfall, and estimated a long-term cumulative housing deficit of 110,800 units.
Based on those estimations, CSI predicted that it would take well over a century — 119 years — to close the housing gap in Arizona.
CSI found that Arizona households need to make $87,000 annually or nearly 60 hours of work per month at the average hourly wage rate ($35.10) to afford a typical home mortgage. In 2019, the hours of work per month needed to afford an average mortgage amounted to just under 40 hours.
CSI’s analysis found that housing costs remain elevated while building permits have declined.
Although home prices fell by about 3% in 2025, the average home was estimated to cost nearly $42,000 (or 11%) above the pre-pandemic pricing — nowhere close to historical trends or price-to-income ratios. Home prices peaked in 2022.
At present, the average house in Arizona costs nearly $421,000. That figure represents a 3.4% decline from summer 2024 and an 8.6% decline since summer 2022. However, that average home cost sits $142,900 higher than the average cost in 2019.
As of February, the average 30-year mortgage rate was over 6%.
Compared to the earliest data provided (2015), many things have increased greatly for Arizonans: the average home price (doubled), the average mortgage payment (nearly tripled), and the hours of work required (nearly doubled).
The average home pricing in December 2015 was just over $211,100, with a 30-year mortgage rate just under 4%, an average mortgage payment of $800, and the average wage rate of $23.23 requiring 35 hours of work per month.
Average monthly mortgage payments doubled from 2019 to 2025: about $1,000 in 2019 to $2,000 in 2025.
The state issued just under 51,000 residential building permits last year, representing a 14% decline from 2024.
Though lower, last year’s total permits fell within the range for keeping up with population growth and housing demand. CSI estimated that the state needs between 45,000 to 60,000 permits annually to keep pace with growth and demand. Maintaining that safety range doesn’t appear to be the reality shaping up for 2026, however. The state authorized about 3,000 new housing units in January, putting the state on pace to have 36,700 units by the year’s end — well below the necessary annual permit range.
This report on the state of housing was released around the same time as the latest employment report from the Senate’s Joint Economic Committee (JEC).
The JEC found that the unemployment rate remained unchanged in April (4.7%), which is higher than the national unemployment rate (4.3%). The state had an increase in about 8,100 net payroll jobs, one of 42 states to experience an increase; in March, the state had a 1,900-job increase.
Over the past year, Arizona added 13,300 payroll jobs and the unemployment rate rose by 0.5%.
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Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap turned over potential noncitizen voter records to Attorney General Kris Mayes for review on Friday.
Heap’s referral follows two letters from the attorney general’s office — one from early April, one from earlier this week — warning Heap that his delay in referring the alleged noncitizen voters to them violated state law, as first reported by Votebeat.
Heap responded to the first letter claiming that he need not comply with the cited statute because their office had not yet canceled the voter registrations of the individuals identified as potential noncitizen voters. Instead, Heap placed those identified voters in a “Not Eligible” status pending submission of documentary proof of citizenship.
Heap gave notice of the status change of the potential noncitizen voters to Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in early March, citing the Elections Procedures Manual (EPM) as justification. The attorney general office contends that Heap had misapplied his duties toward proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration to registered voters.
In that notice, Heap refused to hand over the potential noncitizen voters’ information to Fontes.
Similarly, Heap told the attorney general’s office in response to its first notice letter to him that a referral of the potential noncitizen voters would be “premature.” In mid-February, Heap announced to the public that he was referring the noncitizen voters to the attorney general’s office in addition to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO).
So far, Heap’s office has only submitted a referral of the alleged noncitizen voters to the MCAO.
In the most recent letter from Mayes’ office, Criminal Division Chief Counsel Nicholas Klingerman rejected Heap’s legal interpretation as incorrect.
“You cannot place ‘not eligible’ holds on these registered voters and fail to issue criminal referrals,” wrote Klingerman. “The statute does not authorize an indefinite administrative suspension for the purported noncitizen registrants, nor does it allow county election officials to choose which prosecuting agency may investigate these possible violations of state law.”
State law requires county recorders to cancel the voter registrations and notify the county attorney and attorney general for possible investigation of any registered voters for which the recorder has obtained information and confirmed noncitizenship.
In March, the MCAO began the early stages of its investigation into over 200 individuals over allegations of noncitizen voting. The recorder’s office identified the individuals through the federal database expanded last October by the Department of Homeland Security for the purposes of voter roll citizenship verification, the Systemic Alien Verification for Entitlements.
The most recent letter from Mayes’ office also accused Heap of intentionally misleading the public.
“At this point, your insistence that you are following the law is wrong at best and purposefully misleading at worst. Moreover, your statement that criminal referrals would not be appropriate despite having acknowledged the requirement to refer these individuals to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and making a criminal referral to MCAO, suggests your intent is to mislead,” said Klingerman.
Last April, all 15 counties throughout the state began undertaking certain efforts to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls following a lawsuit.
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