The voters were flagged earlier this year by a federal voter verification tool that is known to produce false positives, and Recorder Justin Heap referred them to county prosecutors for review story via @sashahupka.bsky.social & @votebeat.org

Maricopa County investigated 60 suspected noncitizen voters. 52 are citizens, 8 are not.

Most Maricopa County voters flagged as potential noncitizen by an error-prone federal system are actually citizens, according to prosecutors

azmirror.com

NEW: An investigation by Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell found 52 of 60 potential noncitizens flagged by a error-prone federal system known as SAVE are actually citizens. Last week, SCOTUS said President Donald Trump's administration can use the tool. Read: www.votebeat.org/arizona/2026...

52 out of 60 voters flagged as noncitizens in key Arizona county turn out to be citizens

Maricopa County’s GOP recorder said he had found 60 noncitizens who had cast a ballot. Upon closer investigation, though, the real number is only eight.

votebeat.org

Also, this is a great time to check out some of my reporting around how the SAVE database has been used in Arizona! Read: www.votebeat.org/arizona/2026...

A federal tool to check voters’ citizenship isn’t reliable. Could it still be useful?

Donald Trump has used SAVE to stoke fears of noncitizen voting. Democrats have decried it as federal overreach. But one Arizona election official used it for good.

votebeat.org

Sasha Hupka@sashahupka.bsky.social · 4d ago

A few things to know about this SCOTUS decision in Arizona... 🧵

A few things to know about this SCOTUS decision in Arizona... 🧵

SCOTUSblog@scotusblog.com · 4d ago

The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to move forward with its plan to use a modified centralized database to verify voters’ citizenship.

OF NOTE: Gary Restaino, a former U.S. attorney in Arizona, suggested officials should have legal filings “already sketched out” in case they get served a subpoena during the upcoming election. And Pima County Attorney Laura Conover previously said she was "prepared to run into court" if needed. 👇

Nathaniel Rakich@baseballot.bsky.social · 5d ago

Worried about federal interference in the midterms? So are some election officials—and they're preparing accordingly. www.votebeat.org/national/202...

OF NOTE: Mayes and Fontes suggest here that the feds could be using private voter info, potentially obtained via the FBI's recent subpoena of the Arizona Senate, to access voter records via public-facing portals. Background: www.votebeat.org/arizona/2026... www.npr.org/2026/09/14/n...

FBI subpoenas 2020 election records from Maricopa County, Arizona, amid Trump’s push to investigate election

The news comes several weeks after the agency searched an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, for records tied to the 2020 election, which Trump has long falsely insisted was stolen from him.

votebeat.org

AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes@azagmayes.bsky.social · 5d ago

Today, Secretary of State Fontes and I jointly sent a letter to U.S. Attorney Courchaine regarding troubling allegations that the federal government is utilizing an “Unlawful Voter Initiative” using highly questionable data and methods to identify purported unlawful voters.

🚨 ARE YOU LOOKING TO ELEVATE YOUR COVERAGE OF THE 2026 MIDTERMS?! 🚨 I'm moderating a @spjphx panel on Oct. 6 to help journalists gain skills to cover state and local races. You'll hear from reporters, newsroom leaders and former officials. SIGN UP: www.eventbrite.com/e/cover-the-...

Cover the elections with confidence at SPJ webinar

Get free resources and know-how to enhance your coverage of upcoming midterm, state, county and local elections at a free webinar.

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OF NOTE: Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, is praising today's court decision blocking the USPS rule for the midterms. He previously said in court documents that the rule was "sowing chaos" and threatened to disenfranchise voters in Arizona. 🔗: azsos.gov/sites/defaul...

Arizona Secretary of State@azsecretary.bsky.social · 2w ago

PRESS RELEASE: Secretary Fontes responds to SCOTUS blocking new USPS rules for mail ballots

BREAKING: The Supreme Court rejected President Trump's bid to restrict mail ballots ahead of the midterms.

Supreme Court rejects Trump mail ballot restrictions for now ahead of midterms

The Supreme Court has rejected President Donald Trump’s bid to restrict mail ballots ahead of the midterms.

bit.ly

OF NOTE: The ACLU of Arizona recently sent letters to counties about the threat of ICE at the polls, per @alisazairareznick.bsky.social. It urged officials to protect voters from intimidation, saying they shouldn't "treat this as a remote or hypothetical concern." More: www.kjzz.org/fronteras-de...

ACLU of Arizona outlines laws against ICE at polling sites in a letter to state election officials

The group says that’s in response to comments from Trump administration officials like Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin — who told reporters earlier this month that ICE isn’t planning oper...

kjzz.org

🗓️ TOMORROW, get your election questions answered! Votebeat's experienced election reporters @jessicahuseman.bsky.social, @alexandershur.bsky.social, @hayleyharding.bsky.social, and @sashahupka.bsky.social will explain what mail voters need to know, election security basics, and more.

Will the midterms happen? Your election questions, answered | Part 2

Submit your election questions to Votebeat reporters, and they’ll answer them live on Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. EDT.

bit.ly

Will the feds show up at the polls or election offices? Is mail voting reliable right now? How will prediction markets impact the election? My @votebeat.org colleagues and I are going live soon to answer your questions about the midterms. Don't miss it! RSVP here: www.eventbrite.com/e/will-the-m...

Will the midterms happen? Your election questions, answered | Part 2

Submit your election questions to Votebeat reporters, and they’ll answer them live on Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. EDT.

eventbrite.com

On Tuesday, get your midterm election questions answered. Submit a question to @jessicahuseman.bsky.social, @alexandershur.bsky.social, @hayleyharding.bsky.social, and @sashahupka.bsky.social here: www.eventbrite.com/e/will-the-m...

The confusing mailing appears to have stemmed from flaws in state and some county officials’ implementation of a new state law. Read our collaboration with @votebeat.org by @sashahupka.bsky.social and @jerodmacevoy.com

Thousands of Arizona voters received letters asking if they’d moved. Here’s why.

About 150,000 Arizona voters, most in Maricopa County, recently received notices from their recorder’s office asking “HAVE YOU MOVED?”

azmirror.com

NEW: Did you recently receive a letter asking, “HAVE YOU MOVED?” You’re not alone. Many Arizonans got that notice, and hadn't moved. The confusing mailing stems from flaws in state and some county officials’ implementation of a new law. Here’s what happened. 🧵 www.votebeat.org/arizona/2026...

‘HAVE YOU MOVED?’ 150,000 voters receive confusing letter from Arizona election officials

Kimberly Dorris was one of 150,000 Arizona voters who got an official letter asking if she had moved. She hadn’t.

votebeat.org

I'm still looking into this, but here's what I know so far. (1/6) 🧵

Sasha Hupka@sashahupka.bsky.social · 4w ago

Hi Maricopa County! I'm hearing some voters recently received notices like the one below asking them to confirm their address, despite not moving. I'm looking into this and I need your help. If you got one and haven't moved, can you let me know at shupka@votebeat.org? Thanks!

Hi Maricopa County! I'm hearing some voters recently received notices like the one below asking them to confirm their address, despite not moving. I'm looking into this and I need your help. If you got one and haven't moved, can you let me know at shupka@votebeat.org? Thanks!

NEW: Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell tells me her office is wrapping up its probe into 60 voters referred by Recorder Justin Heap. They were alleged to be noncitizens — but not all are. Investigators are “finding there are citizens… some, but not all of them.”

You've got election questions. We've got answers. Join @jessicahuseman.bsky.social, @alexandershur.bsky.social, @hayleyharding.bsky.social, and @sashahupka.bsky.social for a free Q&A event as the midterms heat up. Attend for free! ➡️ www.eventbrite.com/e/will-the-m...

“I am more confident in our voter roll today than ever before, and that has always been my goal.” story via @sashahupka.bsky.social @votebeat.org

The SAVE system isn’t reliable, but it might be useful. One Arizona county’s experience shows how.

Recorder Michelle Burchill was intrigued when she first learned about a newly expanded federal tool for checking voters’ citizenship

azmirror.com

'The pool of voters that could be impacted by this is an order of magnitude larger than in some ... other states,' one expert told @votebeat.org's @sashahupka.bsky.social. Read more on the hundreds of thousands of Arizonans who could be removed from AZ's mail voting list: azcir.org/news/2026/08...

Hundreds of thousands of Arizonans could be removed from the mail voting list in 2027

Arizona voters who haven't used their mail ballots in recent general elections could get kicked off the Active Early Voting List stating in 2027.

azcir.org

NEW: Arizona is preparing to remove hundreds of thousands of voters from its automatic mail ballot list as a new state law comes to bear next year. That could prompt huge voting pattern changes in the key swing state, where mail voting is popular. Read: www.votebeat.org/arizona/2026...

A mass of voters are about to be removed from the mail voting list in this key swing state

Arizona will remove voters from its early voting list under the provisions of a state law coming to bear next year. Here’s what to know.

votebeat.org

NEW: Donald Trump has used SAVE to stoke fears of noncitizen voting. Democrats have decried it as federal overreach. And experts and reporters have proven it's unreliable. But could it still be useful? In Yavapai County, the answer was "yes." Read: www.votebeat.org/arizona/2026...

A federal tool to check voters’ citizenship isn’t reliable. Could it still be useful?

Donald Trump has used SAVE to stoke fears of noncitizen voting. Democrats have decried it as federal overreach. But one Arizona election official used it for good.

votebeat.org

A high rate of return has drawn concern in rural Navajo County. But while undelivered mail ballots aren’t ideal, they are a normal part of elections. story via @sashahupka.bsky.social/@votebeat.org

Over 50,000 ballots never made it to voters in Arizona's primary election. That isn’t unusual.

At least 50,000 mail ballots never made it to voters during the Arizona July 21 primary election and were underlivered

azmirror.com

I gathered data and records to look into the situation in Navajo County. My analysis suggests nothing unusual happened — despite initial reports that something had gone awry. Don't just take it from me. State prosecutors told me they didn't believe "there’s anything nefarious going on there." 👇

Sasha Hupka@sashahupka.bsky.social · last mo.

NEW: You've likely heard that some ballots went undelivered in Navajo County, Arizona, during the recent primary. You may not know that at least 50,000 ballots were undelivered statewide — and that's normal. How an ordinary event set off mail ballot fears: www.votebeat.org/arizona/2026...

NEW: You've likely heard that some ballots went undelivered in Navajo County, Arizona, during the recent primary. You may not know that at least 50,000 ballots were undelivered statewide — and that's normal. How an ordinary event set off mail ballot fears: www.votebeat.org/arizona/2026...

New data sheds light on a mail ballot mystery in rural Arizona

At least 50,000 ballots never made it to voters in Arizona’s 2026 primary election. That’s actually completely normal.

votebeat.org

“They don’t work with us, they work against us,” Adrian Fontes said. “Why should I trust them?” story via @votebeat.org

‘I don’t trust you’: Tensions boil over on Trump administration’s election security call

Tensions boiled over on a CISA election security call as Arizona’s Fontes told Trump administration officials he doesn’t trust them

azmirror.com

Adrian Fontes says the citizenship language America First Legal wants added isn’t a key change, since Arizona already requires it -- and always has story via @caitlinsievers.bsky.social

Fontes urges high court to reject Trump-linked firm’s ballot rewrite bid for election reform measure

Adrian Fontes urged Arizona’s high court to reject a Trump-linked firm’s bid to rewrite the Prop. 144 ballot description

azmirror.com

Got questions about the midterms? Our @votebeat.org team wants to answer. Join me, @hayleyharding.bsky.social, @alexandershur.bsky.social, and @jessicahuseman.bsky.social on Sept. 15 at 10 a.m. MST. You can ask us anything! RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/will-the-m...

Will the midterms happen? Your election questions, answered | Part 2

Submit your election questions to Votebeat reporters, and they’ll answer them live on Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. EDT.

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OF NOTE: Election denialism isn't just a thing on the right. A small survey from @lookoutphx found less than 30% of DEM and PND respondents fully trusted elections, citing gerrymandering, money in politics, etc. That mirrors other, national studies. www.lookoutnews.org/election-dis...

Election Distrust is Not Just a Republican Thing

New LOOKOUT survey found fewer than 30% of Democrats and Independents fully trust U.S. elections. Instead of the right’s fraud claims, they blame gerrymandering, voter suppression, money in politics a...

lookoutnews.org