‘ICE Out!’: Phoenix advocacy groups hang Election Day banners across Valley

On Tuesday morning, four local advocacy groups — Poder in Action, Organized Power in Numbers, Phoenix Metro Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and Indivisible Mesa — announced that they had dropped banners with Election Day messaging across Phoenix metro.

The banners, which displayed messages such as “EAT THE RICH” and “ICE OUT! VOTE!”, were placed in view of prominent roadways, including I-10 near downtown Phoenix and US-60 near Mesa.

The messaging was displayed as Arizonans returned completed ballots and headed to the polls for the 2026 midterm election. Key issues on the November ballot include immigration enforcement, affordability and election ID requirements. 

This election will also decide two seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). This year, the ACC is expected to make decisions on utility rate-increase proposals from Arizona Public Service and Tucson Electric Power, as well as energy allocation for data center projects, both of which could affect residential energy costs.

Attorney General Kris Mayes, who is running against Republican Warren Petersen, spoke out against data center development at a town hall she held in October, where she called for a moratorium on future projects and announced a lawsuit she filed against OpenAI.

Propositions on the ballot have also garnered attention ahead of Election Day, including Prop. 316, which would enable cities and towns to impose a new tax on grocery purchases, and Prop. 144, which would require voters to present government identification to vote, impacting the 80% of Arizonans who have in the past chosen to vote by mail, according to AZ Clean Elections.

“Organizers say their messages reflect a demand for leaders who prioritize people over corporate interests, protect the right to vote, and reject immigration enforcement policies that harm immigrant communities,” Poder in Action officials said in a statement. “By bringing these messages into public view on Election Day, the groups aimed to make clear that the issues facing everyday people cannot be separated from the decisions made by elected officials.”

Arizona Senate Bill 1570, which failed to pass in February, would have forced counties to work with federal law enforcement to coordinate their presence at polling places. The bill stalled in committee after community members — most notably organizers with Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) — showed up in protest and were later barred from entering the Senate building. 

In September, the ACLU of Arizona sent letters to Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and election officials in every Arizona county, urging them to keep federal law enforcement away from polling places, especially after the Trump administration said it would send them out as monitors across the nation.

On Oct. 29, White House Border czar Tom Homan said in a press conference that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers would not be deployed to any polling place. However, organizers still anticipated misinformation on Election Day and urged the public to verify election claims before sharing them.

“We’re out here today as part of a network of people ensuring everyone that’s eligible to vote gets the chance to exercise that right,” Ben Laughlin, the interim director at Poder in Action, said in an email to CALÓ News. “We’re supporting voters with accurate information, easing access to polling locations, and protecting democracy in the process.”

A banner hung from a parking structure on Seventh and Washington streets in downtown Phoenix reading “HANDS OFF OUR VOTE, STRIKEOUT THE KENDRICKS” — a dig at Ken Kendrick, owner and manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks — was no longer on display by early afternoon on Tuesday. The other three banners remained visible into the evening.

Polling places across Arizona will be open until 7 p.m., and starting at 8 p.m., the first batch of unofficial results will be visible on results.arizona.vote.

Not all results will be available on election night. Early ballots returned on Election Day, provisional ballots, and ballots requiring additional verification may take longer to process. The Secretary of State’s Office says voters should expect results to continue being updated over several days.

River Graziano is a freelance journalist for CALÓ News. They grew up in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix and later attended ASU in Tempe, where they spent two years as an editor at The State Press. Their reporting with CALÓ News covers advocacy efforts impacting Latine communities across the Valley.