Arizona Center for Empowerment’s Legislative Heat Wave!

It’s hot in the desert! Arizona’s legislative session ended in mid-June, and MVF partner Arizona Center for Empowerment (ACE), along with several other MVF partners in the People First Economy Coalition, achieved major policy and budget victories. We’re talking about fighting back against data centers, defending voting rights, securing funding for affordable housing, and more. 

The best part: These victories were fueled by people power. ACE’s members from across the state got in on the advocacy action, showing up at the State Capitol, providing public testimony, and fighting for the policy solutions they want to see. 

The details are sizzling, so we’ll let the ACE team tell you in their own words. Below we’ve included an excerpt taken from a recent email update to ACE’s members, congratulating them on their wins. 

You can also read the People First Economy Coalition’s statement here.

We Won: Historic Budget, Voting Access, & Our Next Steps

Hi/Hola Luchadores - 

As we close the book on this year's legislative session, we are filled with pride and gratitude. The work you did packing the rooms, testifying, and showing up in force did not go unnoticed. Because of your relentless pressure, we walked away from the legislature with victories that protect our families’ health, housing, and future. But this is just the beginning. 

Here is how we won together, and how we continue to organize.

Photo: ACE members advocating for community investment and funding for programs that Arizonans need.

A Budget Built by People Power

These budget wins were earned because our members made their voices impossible to ignore. Throughout the session, you packed the capitol rooms and delivered powerful testimonies that shifted the debate. Those efforts directly led to defeating an “ICE at the polls" bill and stopping 25 other anti-immigrant measures.

Our defense of democracy extends beyond the Capitol. At the Board of Supervisors, we have consistently shown up to demand that our elections remain safe, transparent, and free from the confusion sown by … [Maricopa] County Recorder Justin Heap. Your presence and testimony at these meetings brought us a major victory: the board voted to expand early voting sites from 12 to 16 locations.

Crucially, these new sites are in high-turnout immigrant and Latino neighborhoods, ensuring that voting access remains fair and accessible for everyone.

Growing our Power: From Barrio to Barrio

This legislative session proved that when we organize barrio [neighborhood] to barrio, we win. We are continuing to build this network through team meetings across Arizona, gatherings like our Asamblea [Assembly], and our next event, El Congreso del Pueblo [People’s Congress].