Hey, Arizona!

Typically, local officials spend the week leading up to a major election delivering supplies to polling places, completing any last-minute worker training, holding press conferences to inform the public, and frantically prepping for the big day.

But in Maricopa County, election officials have also been busy hashing out a truce.

On Monday, top leaders were huddled in separate, windowless jury chambers at a courthouse in Phoenix. Outside, a summer monsoon storm unleashed dust, wind, rain, and lightning over the metro. Inside, long after business hours, a local judge hurried back and forth, carrying proposed terms from one room to the other.

Around 10 p.m., they reached a consensus. The county finally has a voting operations agreement.

The deal ends a long-standing legal battle over election control between Recorder Justin Heap and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. Both sides say the new agreement is a win for county voters.

But the compromise, crafted during a series of closed-door, hourslong mediation sessions, effectively builds a wall between the board’s elections department and the recorder’s office — agencies that traditionally have worked hand in hand to administer elections for the county’s 2.5 million voters. And while it resolves officials’ legal battle, tensions between their offices remain high.

Now, the question is whether it will actually result in a smooth election cycle — and what Heap, backed by MAGA-aligned figures, will do with his newly separate office.

The agreement doesn’t apply to the upcoming July 21 primary, so the first true test of the deal will come in the high-stakes general election on Nov. 3.

Still, I’ll be watching to see whether county officials can get through next week without further infighting. That feels like a good indicator of how things might go this fall.

Of course, not everyone lives in the state’s most populous county. In Mohave County, I’ll be keeping an eye on how vote counting goes with a new type of ballot paper. I’m curious to see how the shift from precinct-based polling places to vote centers plays out in Apache County. Statewide, I’m eager to hear how many voters take advantage of a new voting option designed to speed up counting. Plus, I want to know which GOP candidate for secretary of state will end up facing Democrat Adrian Fontes in November.

I’ll be keeping tabs on the federal government, too — just in case folks in D.C. decide to inject some chaos into our primary.

That’s it for this week, but I’ll be back in your inbox soon. Tell a friend to sign up here so they don’t miss out.

In the meantime, if you run into any problems at the polls on Tuesday, I want to hear about it. You can reach me anytime at [email protected].

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On the Lighter Side

You may know the Arizona Citizens’ Clean Elections Commission as the body charged with operating the state’s public campaign financing program.

But did you know that it also writes comic books?

The voter-established, nonpartisan commission is tasked with voter education efforts — and to that end, it has produced several issues of “Captain Activate! And The Future Voters,” a comic book series designed to teach readers of all ages about the power of civic engagement.

The books follow Captain Activate and his crew of youngsters as they battle the evil forces of voter apathy, disengagement, misinformation, and more. They come with colorful, state-specific illustrations — including depictions of the Arizona Capitol, saguaro cactuses, and a haboob.

You gotta check them out! 📚

The Big Story

Maricopa County’s election dispute is finally over — at least on paper

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Recorder Justin Heap have struck a deal over who will run early and mail voting, Election Day, and ballot counting in the 2026 election.