A judge has ruled that Arizona lawmakers violated the state Constitution on multiple fronts when they passed a sweeping overhaul of campaign-finance laws in 2016.

Story by Dustin Gardiner, Arizona Republic

The 2018 midterm elections were heralded as a triumph for democracy itself, with record numbers of voters turning out to the polls and, in multiple states, passing measures to expand voting access.

Story by Allegra Kirkland, Talking Points Memo

Back in 2016, the Legislature passed S.B. 1516, a new campaign finance law designed to handcuff the Clean Elections Commission and to open up huge new loopholes for unlimited corporate contributions to candidates. 

A Maricopa County judge has struck down several provisions of a 2016 top-to-bottom rewrite of Arizona’s campaign finance laws, including one that allowed the Arizona Democratic Party to spend millions of dollars helping Katie Hobbs win the race for secretary of state.

Story by Jeremy Duda, Arizona Mirror

Incoming Secretary of State Katie Hobbs took former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean to task on Twitter after he made a baseless suggestion that GOP “cheating” kept Maricopa County a Republican stronghold until a Democrat became county recorder in 2016.

Story by Jeremy Duda, Arizona Mirror

Residents in all of the state's 15 counties are going to get another few days to fix problems with their early ballots to ensure their votes are counted.

Story by Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services

Opinion: The statewide powers of darkness did well in the recent election. But there was a glimmer of hope in the city.

Column by E.J. Montini, Arizona Republic

Arizona Advocacy Network is trying to recruit volunteers to serve as poll observers on Tuesday. So far, they’ve gotten more than 150 people to sign up.

Story by Mark Brodie, KJZZ

National right-wing media outlets The Daily Caller and Washington Free Beacon have together published two dozen articles criticizing Proposition 127, a clean energy ballot initiative in Arizona. Most of the pieces condemn the chief funder of the "yes" campaign, Tom Steyer, while failing to even mention the chief funder of the "no" campaign, the electric utility company Pinnacle West. Key figures in the opposition campaign have promoted the Daily Caller and Free Beacon articles on social media.

Story by Ted MacDonald, Media Matters (appeared at Salon.com)

When it comes to the ease of voting and transparency of money in politics, the candidates vying to become Arizona's top elections official are fundamentally different.

Story by Dustin Gardiner, Arizona Republic