Court Order Halts Arizona Voter Purge Law Before November 2022 Election
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Phoenix, AZ — A federal judge in Arizona today signed a stipulated order resolving the Arizona Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander for Equity Coalition’s (AZ AANHPI for Equity Coalition) request for a preliminary injunction of House Bill 2243 in the ongoing lawsuit related to that bill and House Bill 2492. HB 2243 is a voter purge bill that targets voters of color and naturalized voters in Arizona, which could have had sweeping effects on the upcoming November election. The order, agreed to by all defendants and entered by the court, stipulates and orders that the defendants will not take any action to implement or enforce HB 2243 in a manner that would remove voter eligibility or disqualify any otherwise valid ballots prior to January 2023—effectively ending the threat of the law for the upcoming November election.
“We are pleased to have a court order in place ensuring that HB 2243 will not be implemented before the election. HB 2243 is an insidious law that was set to purge eligible voters from voter rolls,” said Niyati Shah, Director of Litigation at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC. “This agreement ensures that eligible AANHPI voters, especially the more than 60% who are naturalized, are no longer at risk of being potentially purged from voter rolls before the midterm elections.”
The stipulated order comes shortly after the AZ AANHPI for Equity Coalition filed a motion for a preliminary injunction of HB 2243, and just days before Defendants were to file any opposition and attend a court-ordered expedited hearing on the motion.
“While we are pleased with this early agreement that protects the right to vote in the next election, we remain steadfast in our commitment to continue to fight both of these voter suppression laws for the long term,” said May Tiwamangkala, Democracy Defender Director at AZ AANHPI for Equity Coalition. “We are in this fight to protect the rights of all voters in our state, including those from the AANHPI communities.”
Sadik Huseny of Latham & Watkins added, “We appreciate the Court’s recognition of the urgency of our motion for preliminary injunction regarding HB 2243. There are many Arizona officials named as defendants in this case, and as noted in our motion, the various inconsistent and shifting positions on the implementation of HB 2243 made a court order necessary to prevent an imminent voter purge. We look forward to continuing our litigation to protect the right to vote by all citizens in Arizona—whatever their race, country of origin, or path taken to citizenship.”
AZ AANHPI for Equity Coalition is represented by Niyati Shah and Terry Ao Minnis of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian American Justice Center (Advancing Justice – AAJC), Sadik Huseny and Amit Makker of Latham & Watkins LLP, and Andrew M. Federhar of Spencer Fane.
Read the full stipulated order here.