Arizona’s voting districts come in two main forms: nine congressional districts that each elect one U.S. House member, and thirty legislative districts that each elect one state senator and two state representatives. A five-member independent commission redraws both sets of boundaries every ten years after the U.S. Census. To find the districts you live in, enter your address at my.arizona.vote and the state’s voter portal returns your current district numbers along with your polling location.
Look Up Your Districts by Address
The quickest way to see which districts you belong to is the Arizona Secretary of State’s voter registration portal at my.arizona.vote. Type in your address and the system displays your congressional district, your legislative district, your registration status, and your assigned polling place.1Arizona Secretary of State. Independent Redistricting Commission
If you’d rather see the maps themselves, the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission runs an interactive mapping hub where you can switch between congressional and legislative views and zoom down to individual streets.2Arizona Redistricting Hub. Official Maps The Citizens Clean Elections Commission also offers a district locator alongside its voter guides.
Your county recorder’s office is a good backup, especially after a move. Because precincts have to line up with district boundaries, a new address can change your entire slate of district assignments, not just your polling place. Check your registration well before an election rather than at the polls.
Congressional Districts
Arizona has nine congressional districts, and each one sends a single representative to the U.S. House. The state kept its nine-seat allocation after the 2020 Census, though the boundary lines shifted to reflect population changes. Each district is drawn to hold roughly the same number of people so that every member of Congress represents a comparable share of Arizonans.
Legislative Districts
The thirty legislative districts work differently. Each one elects one state senator and two state representatives, which produces a legislature of 30 senators and 60 representatives.3Citizens Clean Elections Commission. About the State Senate That means every Arizonan has three state-level lawmakers from a single legislative district: one senator and two representatives, all elected by the same voters.
Legislative districts are smaller than congressional districts, so their boundaries don’t match up. It’s normal to live in, say, congressional district 3 and legislative district 24, and both numbers appear on your voter registration record.
Who Draws the Lines
Both sets of maps are drawn by the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, a five-member panel that operates independently of the state legislature.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Constitution Article 4 Part 2 Section 1 Voters created the commission by passing Proposition 106 in 2000, which amended Article IV, Part 2 of the state constitution.5Arizona Secretary of State. Proposition 106 Before Proposition 106, the legislature drew its own maps.
The commission has two Republicans, two Democrats, and an independent chair. No more than two of the four partisan commissioners can come from the same county, and the chair cannot be registered with any party already on the panel. Commissioners are barred from holding Arizona public office or working as a paid lobbyist for three years after their service ends.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Constitution Article 4 Part 2 Section 1
The Six Criteria for New Maps
The Arizona Constitution tells the commission to build maps around six specific goals, listed here in the order the constitution prioritizes them:
- Compliance with the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act, which in redistricting mainly means avoiding vote dilution of racial or language minority communities.6Congress.gov. Voting Rights Act – Supreme Court Provides Guideposts for Determining Violations of Section 2 in Brnovich v DNC
- Equal population across districts. Congressional districts must be as close to identical as practicable; legislative districts have slightly more flexibility.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Constitution Article 4 Part 2 Section 1
- Compactness and contiguity. Every part of a district has to connect, and shapes should be reasonably compact.
- Communities of interest. Groups with shared social, cultural, or economic concerns should stay together where possible.
- Visible boundaries. The commission should follow geographic features, city and town limits, county borders, and undivided census tracts rather than arbitrary lines.
- Competitiveness. Competitive districts should be favored when doing so doesn’t significantly harm the other goals.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Constitution Article 4 Part 2 Section 1
The constitution also flatly prohibits identifying or considering where current officeholders or candidates live, which removes the temptation to draw maps that protect or target specific politicians.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Constitution Article 4 Part 2 Section 1
The Ten-Year Cycle
Arizona redraws its districts once per decade using fresh census data. The commission has to be seated by February 28 of each year ending in one, so the most recent commission formed in early 2021 and worked with 2020 Census numbers.7Citizens Clean Elections Commission. Redistricting After the commission publishes draft maps, a public comment period of at least 30 days lets residents submit feedback or propose alternatives before the maps are finalized. Once approved, the boundaries stay in place until the next census triggers a new round.
Precincts Are Not Districts
Voting precincts get confused with districts often enough to be worth separating. A precinct is a smaller geographic unit your county’s board of supervisors creates and maintains to organize polling places and report results.8Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 16-411 – Designation of Election Precincts and Polling Places The redistricting commission does not draw precincts.
State law requires every precinct to fit entirely within a single congressional district, legislative district, supervisorial district, and community college district. A precinct can never straddle two districts of the same type, which is what makes it possible for every voter in a precinct to receive the same ballot.8Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 16-411 – Designation of Election Precincts and Polling Places County boards have to finalize precinct boundaries by October 1 of the year before a general election, and they often have to adjust after the commission releases new district maps.
Special Taxing Districts on Your Ballot
Beyond congressional and legislative races, an Arizona ballot may also include contests for special taxing districts. These are local bodies created under Arizona Revised Statutes Title 48 to provide a specific service such as fire protection, water, parks, or libraries. Each has its own defined territory, its own elected board, and authority to levy property taxes. They don’t follow the same ten-year redrawing cycle as congressional and legislative districts, and the redistricting commission has no role in setting their boundaries. If you live inside one, its board elections appear on your ballot alongside your state and federal races.