Sasha Hupka 🌵
@SashaHupka
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County watchdog & elections reporter @azcentral . I like hikes, the desert and holding power to account. Tips: 480-271-6387.
Phoenix, AZ
Joined September 2017
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This election year will be pivotal in Arizona.
Already, campaign signs are up and attack ads are rampant — and there's lots to come.
Follow the action by signing up for Republic Recount, my weekly election newsletter. It's local news with national ties.
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BREAKING: A federal judge just made an order from the bench that bans ballot box monitors with Clean Elections USA from taking photos of voters while the voters are within 75 feet of a drop box. Story with full details to come for
@azcentral
.
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Barricades are up outside Maricopa County’s election headquarters.
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I'm at the end of a long, busy week, so it feels like a good time to share some personal news I've been sitting on for a while.
*deep breath*
I'M GONNA BE INTERNING FOR THE LA TIMES IN WASHINGTON DC THIS SUMMER!!!!!!
Sorry, I tried not to yell that. I'm just really excited!
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Today's Maricopa County meeting ended abruptly. Supervisor Clint Hickman was saying an Iowa man was sentenced to prison time for sending him death threats.
He said it was driven by voting conspiracies. The crowd started laughing and jeering, and Chairman Jack Sellers adjourned.
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It’s my first day
@azcentral
, where I’ll be covering Maricopa County and Chandler with a focus on elections and regional issues. I’m so excited to be back! And, I’ve got an email. So, send love mail, hate mail, and story tips to sasha.hupka
@arizonarepublic
.com. 😊
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If you’ve been shopping lately, you’ve probably heard of buy-now-pay-later apps. 🛍
💸 But they might be dragging a new generation into debt.
❌ They operate with less protections than other credit.
👩💼 And U.S. regulators are hesitant to intervene.
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ASU police say they are investigating a Wednesday incident in which a queer faculty member was confronted and injured on the school's campus.
TPUSA officials said late last night that two of their "crew members" were involved in the altercation. Read:
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The parking lot outside MCTEC is being shut down as law enforcement anticipate protests now that the polls have closed.
@azcentral
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In closing remarks, Supervisor Steve Gallardo declared the 2022 election "over."
But not everybody in the room agreed.
My write-up on today’s election certification in Maricopa County, for
@azcentral
:
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Per court documents, one user wrote, "Kids are off limits."
In response, Goltz wrote "No. Nothing is off limits."
A Texas man was sentenced yesterday for threatening Maricopa County election officials. From
@JRGzzTX
and I:
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BREAKING: The Department of Education will fine Grand Canyon University $37.7 million for "deceiving" students in its marketing of doctoral degrees.
This comes after GCU officials publicly aired grievances with the investigation earlier this month.
Read:
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Good morning, social media people! Before anything big breaks, I have a tiny piece of personal news: It’s my work anniversary with
@azcentral
. 💕
It’s been two years of meeting amazing people, learning new stuff, writing cool things and falling in love with Arizona. Onwards! 📝
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One woman sitting near me called the supervisors "pansies" and said she believed there were no threats — that it was a lie.
But there are death threats. The Iowa man said he would "lynch" Hickman for "lying" about election results, per court documents.
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BREAKING: NAU is getting a medical school, university President Jose Luis Cruz Rivera says at ABOR. Stay tuned for more details!
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Life update: All my stuff is in moving boxes, and I’m headed to Phoenix, Arizona, where I’ll be working full time for
@azcentral
covering the ‘burbs!
I’m thrilled to be returning to the land of saguaros, and I start June 13! In the meantime, here’s me road-tripping. 🌵
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Meanwhile, the state's top federal prosecutor said just days ago that Arizona remains "in the crosshairs" for continued threats to election workers as its status as a battleground state intensifies in 2024. Read:
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NEW: Democratic Rep.
@gregstantonaz
wrote to the Department of Homeland Security asking if it can work with
@AZSecretary
to confirm the citizenship status of the 100,000 voters caught in the state’s coding error.
He cites my story:
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For those curious to know more about the life of a frontrunner to replace Joe Biden on the ballot, I’d point you toward “Kamala’s Way” by
@DanielMorain
, a veteran California politics writer.
I helped him research this book, and will be giving it a reread myself.
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Hello from Sky Harbor! I’m headed to NYC for a weeklong reporting conference where I’ll learn more about how to watchdog government money.
That means you might see less of me this week, although I’ll still have a story or two publishing. Soon, I’ll be back with new skills.
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Worth noting: Speakers were also upset about Maricopa County's new security procedures for board meetings. One called the supervisors "men in skirts" being protected by law enforcement.
I covered those new security measures. Read more about them here:
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As the board left the chambers, the crowd called them "cowards" and told them to "run." One asked, "Do you hear us?"
This is one of a few board meetings in recent weeks that has wrapped up amid supervisors' remarks after public comment because of disruptions from the audience.
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NEW: A new law slowed election night results in Arizona on Tuesday.
The delay could escalate tensions this fall, when politicians, pundits and voters will be eagerly awaiting results from one of America's most consequential battlegrounds. With
@maryjpitzl
:
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NEW: A Yavapai County judge just ruled that Arizona's ballot drop boxes are here to stay, writing in a minute entry that "the decision to use staffed but unmonitored drop-boxes" is "within the discretion" of
@AZSecretary
.
Story to come, background here:
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The situation in Rio Verde Foothills is complicated. With national media picking up the story, many folks are wondering how this happened.
I'm a local reporter who has been covering this since I started
@azcentral
. So, a 🧵, starting with today's Gaggle!
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A little personal news update: My beat is changing slightly. Here’s the highlights:
- I still cover counties. No change there!🌵
- I no longer cover Chandler. 🌆
- I now cover higher education in Arizona. ✏️
So, if you’ve got tips on counties or colleges, send em’ my way!
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Richer, on his primary loss: "Life goes on." He says he has "no sense of what's next." But he won't go back to big law, and he says he "probably won't be invited to a Donald Trump administration." Besides that, he's wide open.
"I tried darn hard," he says. "I told the truth."
@stephen_richer
is now talking about creating an election administration career pipeline, threats against him, etc.
He says he won't be able to convince everyone the election wasn't stolen. But legal cases can serve as a "deterrent" for large-scale spreaders of misinformation.
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I finally get to share some exciting personal news!
This year,
@maryjpitzl
and I will be hosting a series on The Gaggle called Elections Dissection. Once a month, we’ll have a new episode focused on voting in Arizona.
Listen to our first one on the PPE:
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Because of a state law exemption, communities have popped up statewide without assured water.
And nobody is required to track them or the hauled water they use.
That means nobody knows how many might go dry.
The story that took me months
@azcentral
:
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I just walked outside in sweatpants and thought “it’s not that bad out.”
It’s 109 degrees.
Guys ... am I becoming an Arizonan?!
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Happy Saturday! I am at MCTEC. Here’s a selfie of my tired face, with tabulation in the background!
Officials say to expect a results drop before 7 p.m. It’ll be around 80,000 ballots, similar to the past few days.
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This will be my second walkout.
I worry about news breaking while I’m gone and about my coworkers who will struggle missing two days of pay.
But our paper has shrunk, and I want to ensure we have journalists to cover our communities. So, I’m walking out. Again.
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC GUILD IS WALKING OFF THE JOB 🧵
It's very simple, what
@Gannett
is offering us would leave some members with LESS money in their paychecks each week, and that is unacceptable. We've started a GoFundMe to help support our journalists
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Schumer says it’s high time to begin legalizing and regulating pot, and I’ve packed details about what that could mean for California and beyond in this explainer. To be blunt, it may not pass, but the topic definitely isn’t going away. Read my latest (with less weed puns) here:
As the draft bill jump-starts discussion on Capitol Hill, here’s a look at where marijuana legalization might go.
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I made A1! 🎉
@ChrisMegerian
and I are also on A2 with our voting rights explainer, so please read our work, print subscribers!
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NEW:
@NAU
will create a medical school based in Flagstaff and focused on community health, officials announced today at
@AZRegents
. They expect it to open in the next three to five years. Read all the details:
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Maricopa County just dropped. 99% of all ballots have now been counted.
There are about 5,275 ballots remaining. They include:
- 1,600 early ballots;
- 3,600 ballots that require signature curing;
- 75 provisional ballots.
No drops over the weekend, per county press release.
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I'm back from vacation!
Also, a piece of personal news: I'll be fully focused on county government and elections in 2024 as Helen picks up higher ed.
You might see my byline a few more times on the beat as I finish up reporting threads. But send pitches and tips to Helen!
Some news! I’m now covering higher education for
@azcentral
. I’m thrilled to be returning to education reporting and my inbox is always open for story ideas: hrummel
@azcentral
.com
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And just like that, I’ve got a new degree from
@ucbsoj
!
More on what’s to come later. For now, I’ll be taking some much needed time off to spend with family and friends. Be back soon, Twitter friends!
-30-
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A judge is expected to hear arguments this morning on Lake's legal challenge over her election loss.
Before you tune into that, read the annotated lawsuit from
@sbarchenger
and I. We went through all 70 pages for
@azcentral
to add context and facts.
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A big thank you to the Ulster County Board of Elections, who sent me some of their “I Voted” stickers after I mentioned them in a story about Maricopa County’s new sticker contest.
I’m originally from neighboring Orange County, New York, and I’m very proud to have these. ❤️🗳️
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It’s Sunday and I’ve got company at MCTEC!
@AntranikTaviti1
and I are here for
@azcentral
. Here’s both of our tired faces (mine has more makeup today).
Stay tuned for our coverage today! 😊
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First
@latimes
story is up!
Lawmakers warned toy manufacturers Monday that if they don’t improve safety processes, Congress could step in with stronger consumer protection laws. It came after a series of baby sleeper recalls and dozens of infant deaths.
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BREAKING: Judge Jay Adleman just set a schedule on discovery in the ongoing defamation case against Kari Lake.
He adopts plaintiff Stephen Richer's proposed scheduling order, with discovery to conclude at the end of August.
Story coming, but schedule is in the image below.
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As an elections reporter, I see a lot of coverage around poll workers, who are crucial to voting. But I’ve been curious for some time about what permanent election staffing looks like across Arizona.
In recent weeks, I’ve endeavored to find out.
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Today was my last day as a Pulliam fellow for
@azcentral
. The time flew. I’m immensely grateful to have had this opportunity in the middle of a pandemic, and I’m so proud of the work I did here this summer. It wouldn’t have been possible without a lot of people!
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✨ Personal News! ✨
I’m very happy to announce that I’ve been elected as
@bupipedream
’s next editor-in-chief, alongside Katy Wong, our incoming managing editor! I’m excited for the upcoming year and can’t wait to run such an amazing paper. It’s a privilege and an honor.
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Please note that this is a developing story and I do expect that it will get updated as I get responses to questions and more details emerge.
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All quiet at the heavily secured Maricopa County election headquarters this morning.
One guy filming something on the sidewalk. And busybodies like me taking photos, I guess!
Not pictured: The white media tent. I’ll be heading there tonight to await results.
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My email address is officially set up, so now seems like a good time to say that I've started at
@latimes
. Catch me covering Congress this summer and send tips at sasha.hupka
@latimes
.com!
Also, follow other awesome interns here (thanks
@austinmxrtinez
!):
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🗞️Time for some personal news! 🗞️
Excited to announce that I'll be spending this summer with the talented folks at
@azcentral
! I can't wait to soak up the sun and hike a bunch of desert trails.
Details on what I'll be covering are tktk. In the meantime, I'm taking Phoenix recs!
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Early ballots get mailed out today! Here’s important dates to know:
☑️Oct. 12: Early voting begins and ballots are mailed; early voting locations and drop-boxes become available.
☑️Oct. 28: Last day to request a ballot in the mail.
☑️Nov. 1: Last day to mail back your ballot.
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I'm baaaccckkkk...
And here to remind you that TOMORROW is the voter registration deadline. Everything you need to know to register, check your status, etc. is in this story:
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In other news: Gilbert police are asking the public to help identify the perpetrators of an Aug. 18 beating.
It comes after
@robertanglen
and
@ecsantacruz3
identified similarities among attacks in the southeast Valley, linking them to the "Gilbert Goons.”
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Today kicks off my internship in Phoenix, Arizona with
@azcentral
, where I’ll be working with the city team to cover news from all of municipalities surrounding Phoenix for the next 10 weeks!
Send me tips, concerns, love letters and hate mail at ahupka
@gannett
.com.
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Protest is rounding the corner onto Roosevelt Street. Now chanting “hands up don’t shoot” and taking a knee.
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Elections press conference today! Kicking off with
@billgatesaz
, who says they’re 84% staffed at vote centers and on track to be fully staffed by Election Day.
Says people outside MCTEC are taking photos of election workers and harassing them. Asks people not to do that.
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Good morning and happy Election Day!
Polls open at 6 a.m. and will close 7 p.m. Maricopa County uses vote centers, so you don’t have an assigned polling place. You can vote at any of the county’s 223 locations.
A little thread with some helpful resources! 🧵
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On site at Steele Indian School Park to cover tonight’s protest, organized by
@CowtownSkate
, for
@azcentral
. Protest is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and they will march down central to Deck Park. There’s currently about 60 people here, most on skateboards. Some are also on bikes.
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Logging off for the long weekend, but before I do…
Catch me on Sunday Square Off with
@brahmresnik
this week! I’ll talk about ballot length and the latest from Pinal County.
And, stick around after my segment to see
@TylerJMontague
and
@tcani
discuss the Senate race and more.
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Remember when I said I’d have another surprise?
The Recount is a new
@azcentral
newsletter about elections.
It's designed primarily to inform Arizonans — with some insights for national politicos, too.
I’ll be writing it. I need you to sign up here!
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Maricopa County taxpayers have spent $215 million on the Melendres lawsuit since 2008 — and counting.
As the case drags on, records I obtained show that the costs of personnel and equipment linked to the orders have ballooned in recent years. Read more:
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Yesterday was the deadline for Arizona candidates to submit their nominating signatures for the 2024 primary and general.
Here's a quickie overview of who is running for supervisor seats in Maricopa County. I'll have a full story later this week with assessor, sheriff, etc.
🧵!
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INVESTIGATION: Maricopa County election officials for years opted not to enforce campaign finance violations and allowed political organizations to rack up millions of dollars in uncollected fines.
Lots of news today, but I'm proud of this one:
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Final Maricopa County primary election result drop is up, and Ansari is leading Terán by just 42 votes.
This will fall into the margin for an automatic recount.
More final results here:
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Breaking, from me: Maricopa County and Scottsdale intend to hammer out a deal to provide water to Rio Verde Foothills.
The details are hazy, but all parties are hopeful that in the next few weeks, there could be a temporary agreement.
Read
@azcentral
:
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Good afternoon from MCTEC! The latest here:
🗳️ Results drop expected after 6 p.m.
✉️ Batch will include rest of early ballots dropped off on Election Day. Expected to be last large one from Maricopa County.
🪧 About a dozen protesters are out front praying, singing.
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Maricopa County confirmed to me a few minutes ago that they are experiencing issues with some on-site tabulators at about 10% of vote centers this morning.
If you’re at an impacted site, you can still cast a ballot via a secure box! It’ll get tabulated later.
@azcentral
Advice for Voters: If a tabulator is not working at a site, you can still vote! You have the option to cast your ballot and place it into the secure ballot box. The poll workers on site at the voting location are best equipped to help you ensure your ballot cast.
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Unfortunately, much of my reporting is doom and gloom. People without water, election conflict, etc.
So, sometimes it's nice to just write something funny.
A woman in Buckeye found a 6-foot-tall, single-humped wooden camel in her yard. I wrote about it.
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Arizona has been hit hardest among Western states by election official turnover since 2020, per a new report from Issue One.
The exodus isn't new news… but wow, these numbers. 98% of Arizona voters will see their elections run by someone new next year.
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A great story on election distrust in Cochise County with this very revealing quote:
“I was going around and talking to people, and they were like, Who is Tom Crosby? What is a supervisor?”
NEW: At the base of the Huachuca Mountains near the Mexican border, crowds gathered to look at the machines that some of them believe have been stealing their votes.
Reporting from Cochise County, where distrust runs deep & change is slow to come.
Read:
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I’ll start covering Congress on Tuesday and it still feels like a dream. Can’t wait!
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🚨 LISTEN UP! 🚨
I know everyone is already focused on 2024. But most Maricopa County voters will see jurisdictional elections this year.
These are races for city bonds, school overrides, etc. They matter. Here's what you need to know, with
@morgfisch
:
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My magnum opus: A recent spate of busy beavers found in the Valley has wildlife rescuers bewildered.
There has been not one, not two, but THREE beavers found in Phoenix and Tempe in recent weeks. 🦫🦫🦫
Beavers do live in Arizona, but that’s a lot.
Read:
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NEW: Supervisor Jack Sellers is throwing support behind Democrat Joel Navarro in the District 1 county supervisor race.
Sellers lost his primary to Republican Mark Stewart. Whoever wins the race in November will represent the southeast Valley. Read:
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UPDATE: County officials say they will drop new results tomorrow.
I initially said we wouldn't see new results until Monday because officials released an erroneous version of the result drop announcement on their website. They are updating it now with correct information.
Maricopa County just dropped. 99% of all ballots have now been counted.
There are about 5,275 ballots remaining. They include:
- 1,600 early ballots;
- 3,600 ballots that require signature curing;
- 75 provisional ballots.
No drops over the weekend, per county press release.
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Remember Arizona's ballot drop box monitors?
With lawn chairs, pizza, video cameras and sometimes guns, they were a defining image of midterm elections.
And they're still in court. I wrote about why that legal case matters for the future. Read my latest:
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Got anything planned for 12:30 p.m. MT today?
If not, I'll be live with
@KatyOnMSNBC
giving you all the latest from Maricopa County. Tune in!
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That's now two polls — one internal, one not — showing Stringham with an edge on Heap, per
@Garrett_Archer
.
This poll touches on a few possible campaign strategies and challenges for Stringham that I identified in my recent story on his race.
Read:
Internal poll sent to me from two separate sources on the
@maricopacounty
recorder contest.
🟦Stringham: 45
🟥Heap 42
Undecided 14
Trust in reliable election results
Yes 57
No 34
Blueprint Polling (Stringham internal) | n=500 | 8/22-8/27 | error=+/-4.12
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This year, I:
✅ Secured a bomb summer internship
✅ Got on A1 (twice!)
✅ Made serious progress on my thesis
✅ Ran my first half marathon
But today I’m most thankful that I have so many wonderful people in my life — especially when so many have lost loved ones this year.
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An investigation found that Supervisor Kevin Cavanaugh made allegations of employee quid pro quo in the Pinal County Attorney's Office without any factual basis.
Employees say he started a false rumor that one had hired another for sexual favors. Read:
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Recorder Stephen Richer is responding publicly after being censured by the Maricopa County GOP last month, days after the Aug. 2 primary election.
Here is my response to the censure by
@MaricopaGOP
.
Hopefully it's instructive on the division of labor in elections and how tabulation actually works.
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Have you ever seen something on Twitter that's upsetting?
You're shocked. Sad. Really pissed.
That's a red flag that you should probably fact check it.
Don't be a dupe. Fact check! It's easy and I'll teach you how to do it in minutes. For
@azcentral
:
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In my latest (and last article of my internship!)
@latimes
, I chatted with app users, regulators, consumer advocates and companies about the dangers — and possible benefits — of the services.
And if you’re not familiar with the apps, I have an explainer!
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It only took five interviews to unanimously convince a grand jury to indict two Cochise County officials on felony election interference charges.
Transcripts shed light on how known election deniers pushed voting conspiracies there. With
@sbarchenger
:
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NEW: Senate Republicans say the man charged with stealing a security fob from Maricopa County's election headquarters is also being investigated for a theft from a state employee.
I've asked DPS officials if they can confirm this allegation. I will keep y'all posted!
We have been asked for information about an incident that occurred recently at the Senate on June 15th. DPS is investigating a theft of some personal items from one of our Senate employees. The person being investigated appears to be the same person who has been charged for
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Walter Ringfield, who allegedly took an election security fob and other items in a bizarre series of reported thefts, was just indicted on three felony charges and one misdemeanor, per county prosecutors.
Background here:
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In May, Robert Washington returned to his job as a security guard at Lone Butte Casino for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Last week, Washington, 68, of Chandler, died in a hospital intensive care unit.
My latest for
@azcentral
here:
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This claim is mostly false - but what’s true is that I’m now a contributor for
@CAPolitiFact
and working with some wonderful folks
@CapRadioNews
!
I’m very excited for the opportunity to learn more about fact checking and fight misinformation. Can’t wait to write more soon! 😊
NEW: Did California
@RepMaxineWaters
tamper with the jury in Derek Chauvin’s trial?
We found this claim on a viral Facebook post is misleading.
@SashaHupka
sorts through the facts:
@CapRadioNews
@PolitiFact
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The man arrested for allegedly stealing a security fob from Maricopa County’s election headquarters appears to have filed a statement to run as a Democrat for U.S. Senate.
Officials previously said they didn’t believe he was the same person.
No. I do not. In my haste, I got this one wrong and I apologize for that. Thank you,
@CarolineWren
, for your patience. And also, my apologies to
@GarretLewis
,
@tomryanlaw
, and anyone else lead astray.
The man arrested appears to be the same who filed a statement to run as
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NEW: An Alabama man was arrested today for allegedly sending threats to Maricopa County election workers via social media, per the DOJ.
“You will all be executed for your crimes.”
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So far, polls are opening smoothly statewide.
Maricopa: All but one location opened on time, things are going well.
Pima: Polls are open and operational, was experiencing some minor printer jams.
Yavapai: "So far, so good."
Coconino: Polls are open, one even has a friend! 🥹
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📢THE VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS TODAY.📢
To register:
🗳Sign up online via the Service Arizona portal with your driver’s license or state ID.
🗳Print out a voter registration form and get it in the mail or drop it off.
More here:
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MCSO announced last month that it will purchase body scanners to use on its detention officers.
That move is largely unprecedented in Arizona and nationwide. I wrote all about the plan — and what's driving it — in my latest for
@azcentral
:
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