I’m thrilled to announce that I’m joining ProPublica to cover voting issues nationally. I am so excited to work alongside some of the most skilled investigative journalists in the country at such a respected organization. I start Monday. www.propublica.org/atpropublica...

Arizona journalists, apply here: workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/defau... STRONGLY recommend! DM/text with questions, I'm happy to talk.

Some personal news. Tomorrow is my last day at Votebeat. I will miss it here so much. I also can't wait to tell you soon where I'm going next.

The vote to send a letter to the Justice Department came a day after a judge rejected Crosby’s request to postpone a Sept. 22 hearing for setting his trial date. The judge decided that the hearing will proceed.

NEW: Arizona’s Cochise County asks Justice Department to look back at 2022 election www.votebeat.org/arizona/2025...

Amazing photo of the Cougar Shadow on the Superstition Mountains taken by Jack Olson, an Apache Junction resident. He took this photo Sunday, September 14 at 6:24 p.m. The shadow can be seen on certain days, twice a year in March and September. Shared with his permission.

JUST IN: On the pending criminal trial for the Arizona official who voted to delay the canvass of the 2022 midterm election... A judge just rejected Cochise County Supervisor Tom Crosby's request to delay his case. The dates for his trial will still be set next Monday, Sept. 22.

Prop. 211 challengers tell AZ Supreme Court that election disclosure law violates privacy, via @CamrynSanchezAZ www.kjzz.org/politics/202...

When veteran Republic columnist Abe Kwok got fired while on medical leave, we picked a fight with Gannett CEO Mike Reed. And we enlisted our readers to help. Today, we have some good news to share. But the fight continues. www.arizonaagenda.com/p/justice-fo...

NEW: What would your university do if ICE agents showed up? In Arizona, the answer isn’t always clear. Experts say schools should have explicit protocols, but @azcir.org's @molboha.bsky.social found some of the state’s largest universities don’t. azcir.org/news/2025/09...

This means the disparate treatment of the affected voters based on where in the state they live will continue, even after Attorney General Kris Mayes issued an opinion in August aimed at resolving those disparities and creating a uniform policy statewide.

NEW: Arizona counties defy attorney general opinion on voters caught in proof-of-citizenship error Thousands could see their rights curtailed as Maricopa and Pinal counties choose to continue enforcing their restrictions. Full story: www.votebeat.org/arizona/2025...

Petersen, Montenegro insist they're legally right and @azsecretary.bsky.social Fontes is wrong about what rules can go into latest version of Elections Procedures Manual. And they says litigation is next if he doesn't see it their way. tucson.com/news/state-r...

Ahead of the midterms, I've been closely watching the conversations around elections in Cochise County, the southern Arizona county that in 2022 attracted national media attention for challenging the election results. You might want to know what they have planned...

How California bluffed its way into a redistricting war with Trump, great work from @politico.com www.politico.com/news/2025/08...

Breaking: Arizona's U.S. senators just sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security asking what kind of election cybersecurity support it’s offering state and local governments, in light of a hacker breaking into the Arizona Secretary of State’s election website...

Arizona AG response to Trump announcing he will attempt to ban mail voting and voting machines.

County recorders should not cancel a voter’s registration without affirmative evidence that the person is ineligible. www.votebeat.org/arizona/2025...

Some recorders had already started to limit the voting rights of these voters if they didn't provide proof of citizenship. A few had suspended their voter registration. It's unclear whether they will now follow Mayes' opinion and restore the voters' full eligibility.

JUST IN: Attorney General issues opinion on how AZ should treat 200K voters caught up in state error tracking voter citizenship. They should remain FULLY ELIGIBLE to vote, Mayes writes, because recorders don't have authority to remove them from rolls/make federal-only. STORY IN🧵

“In Election Cases, Supreme Court Keeps Removing Guardrails” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/u...

County recorders are concerned that the rollout of the new system has been rushed story via @jenafifield.bsky.social/@votebeat.org

Local newspapers are the last bastion of defense to find our what your city councils have been up to. Please support them, whether with a print subscription or at least a digital one. You don't know what you'll be missing until it's gone.

I got a copy of the email Fontes sent to staff Monday about the layoffs. Read it in my newsletter coming out in a bit. If you're not signed up, it's free and includes a round-up of election news from around the state: www.votebeat.org/arizona/subs...

New: Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is eliminating several top positions in his office, citing budget constraints. www.votebeat.org/arizona/2025...

New: Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo sends letter to Attorney General Kris Mayes asking her to investigate Recorder Justin Heap for breaking open meeting law and for public corruption, after we reported Heap's text messages. Full letter 🔗 and background in 🧵.

@azagmayes.bsky.social tells judge there's nothing illegal about a unanimously approved 2005 law that says not just Arizonans who live overseas can vote here but so can their children even if they never lived here. tucson.com/news/state-r...

To give more context: San Tan Valley has about 100,000 residents now. That's about as many as Boulder, Colorado, and Green Bay, Wisconsin.

One of the fastest-growing communities in the U.S. might become a town today. San Tan Valley residents (see SE corner of map, in relation to Phoenix) are voting today on whether to incorporate.

[email protected] told me that he isn't conceding to the GOP argument that he HAS TO give 30-day comment period, but he heard the public wanted it. AZ GOP Chair Gina Swoboda said it's unfortunate AZ residents must go to court "to have Secretary Fontes comply with the law."

NEW: Arizona’s secretary of state changes rules for elections in response to Republican challenges, on key issues such as voter intimidation and what to do if a county doesn't certify results. www.votebeat.org/arizona/2025...

I’ll be on 3TV Politics Unplugged 5:30 pm Sunday trying to fit six months of Maricopa County election drama into six minutes. Thanks for having me on @morganloew.bsky.social

JUST IN: Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo calls for public corruption investigation into Recorder Justin Heap, after we published the recorder's texts this morning. Link 🔗 to full story in thread.

NEW: After we published a story this morning with Recorder Justin Heap's texts as he lobbied supervisors for control over elections, Supervisor Steve Gallardo calls for public corruption investigation. www.votebeat.org/arizona/2025... BACKGROUND:

In this story: The full extent of Recorder Heap’s private comms about the elections agreement is unknown. He has so far not provided his texts, despite repeated requests from a lawyer representing Votebeat. Two supervisors provided their texts with him on their personal phones

Exclusive: Text messages show how Maricopa County recorder pressured supervisors for control of elections www.votebeat.org/arizona/2025...

Tucson, if you got an incorrect ballot in the mail for the city council election, there's a # to call at the bottom. Recorder's Office and city tell me they will be putting out another news release today with more info, and I've asked lots of ?s, waiting on answers... more TK

Convicted criminals make up less than half of ICE arrests under Trump, via @timhenderson.bsky.social stateline.org/2025/07/24/f...

Will Maricopa County be forced to give out a database that show the votes cast in an election, ballot by ballot? A judge just ruled on it... and the answer is in my newsletter coming out later today. Please subscribe (it's free): www.votebeat.org/arizona/subs...

"Proponents have cited new jobs and an economic boost as support for the project. Local critics have warned that the project would be a drain on Tucson’s water, energy and environment." azluminaria.org/2025/07/21/a...

The cyberattack occurred two days after the June 21 U.S. bombing of Iran. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security had issued a warning the day after the airstrikes that cyberattacks by “pro-Iranian hacktivists are likely."

NEW: Hackers who breached Arizona election website aimed at other agencies, too. The top cybersecurity official for the state's Department of Homeland Security tells me he believes Iran was likely involved, given the image uploaded, methods & persistence www.votebeat.org/arizona/2025...

A hacker gained access to the Arizona Secretary of State’s candidate portal and changed all candidate photos on the election results pages from 2016 to 2024 to this photo of an Iranian Ayatollah, according to the office. Full story in quoted tweet.

ICYMI, from Michigan: Many voters could benefit from a ballot in Arabic, but the law isn’t on their side, via @hayleyharding.bsky.social . Story: www.votebeat.org/michigan/202...

Just in, Arizona: This morning, Navajo County Recorder Timothy Jordan rejected a plea deal for his alleged road rage incident, and he will now go to jury trial where, if convicted, he faces a maximum of 6 years in jail.

Update: The hacker changed the candidates' headshots to an image of an Iranian Ayatollah, leader of Iran, with Persian words that were favorable to Iran. The hacker replaced all of the 2024 general election candidate photos on the election results page with this image.

The Arizona Department of Homeland Security was alerted, and the investigation of whether private candidate information was accessed continues.

New: A hacker gained access to the web portal Arizona candidates use to upload info about themselves and changed candidate headshots that were live on the election results website, three weeks before the special congressional primary election, @votebeat.org has learned. Story in 🧵

The RNC told me for this story that lawsuits are part of a larger strategy leading up to the midterms, focused on election integrity and clean voter rolls. The AZ lawsuit claims allowing these citizens to vote violates AZ's constitution, and gives Democrats an unfair advantage.

Ahead of the midterms, the Republican Party is targeting the voting rights of US citizens who have never lived in the country. Who are these voters, and where might these challenges go? FULL STORY: www.votebeat.org/arizona/2025...