Lauren Redman has been working the night inspection board for Pima County elections for the past decade. She first learned about it from her step father, who brought her mother into working elections, and now she does it with them both and her fiance.

“We all do it together as a family. I love it,” Redman says.

The job Redman and her family are performing Tuesday night is looking at box full of ballots and making sure nobody has tampered with the seals.

It’s one small part of a larger system of checks and balances that have made Redman trust elections. “When a lot of the suspicion around election fraud started coming around… my experience here really made me just know that was malarkey,” Redman said. “There are so many checks and balances.”

Redman, who is studying library science and also works in consumer research, loves learning about elections behind the scenes. She also loves the community: people who have been working elections together for decades.

“It kind of awakens your understanding of — this is your country, this is your government. Have a day, have a part of the process, get some hands on experience.”

If there’s one thing both Cindy Coleman and Jamie Sullivan want people to know about the Pima County election system it’s this: it’s well run, and they trust it.

Coleman and Sullivan are party election observers — Coleman for the Republican party and Sullivan for the Democratic party.

“We’re all in agreement that it’s such a good process,” said Coleman.

This year, the two observers are representing their parties overseeing ballots in the tabulation room, where machines count the votes and note any ballots that can’t be read by the machine.

Sometimes that process can go until 2 or 3 a.m., so both Coleman and Sullivan tried to rest for their evening shift.

“I really wanted to go participate more at the vote centers and hand out literature but I thought better of it because I have a broken foot,” said Sullivan.

Both observers spent the day answering questions for people from their own parties about the process. In the past, they’ve taken party members and candidates to election headquarters and talked them through how votes are counted.

“It helps us to help people have faith in the process,” says Coleman.

“I think that’s why were both so passionate about observing is because we will get people every now and then that are just determined to find some kind of fraud or nefarious activity, and after one shift observing, they seem like completely transformed,” Sullivan said.

Their relationship with each other is also a key one across the party line.

Sullivan said most of the people in her life are Democrats — and she often forgets Coleman is a Republican. “It’s nice to be reminded that there are good people out there and it doesn’t matter what party. There’s just good people that want to make a difference.”

Eleonor Leon, 57, and her son Enoch Spiro, 27, saw Tuesday’s election as an opportunity to advocate for the South Tucson community they returned to after being priced out of housing in Tucson.

The mother and son, both artists, spoke about rising rents, homelessness and the challenges of making a living in the arts.

Leon, who grew up on Tucson’s southwest side and moved to South Tucson in June 2025, said she came out to support incumbent South Tucson City Council members Brian Flagg and Cesar Aguirre.

Their connection to Flagg goes beyond politics. Leon said Casa Maria, the nonprofit where Flagg has long worked, helped her family when they were struggling financially and trying to get back on their feet.

“That’s why I’m here today, because I want people to know that I’m here and that I’m trying to make a difference,” Leon said.

Leon previously owned La Fashionista, a downtown Tucson business that hosted fashion shows and brought together local artists. She said opportunities for artists have dwindled over the years, making it increasingly difficult to support herself through her work.

Housing costs also pushed the family out of Tucson for a time. Spiro said they moved to Benson in search of cheaper rent before finding a way to return.

“The moment we were able to find any kind of other housing that opened up in Tucson, we left,” Spiro said. “But I’d say the problem still persists.”

Now living in South Tucson, Leon said she wants elected officials to focus on affordable housing, public safety and helping people experiencing homelessness. She also wants residents to take a more active role in improving their neighborhoods.

“How do we help these people get back on their feet instead of just talking about them?” she asked.

For Spiro, who creates animations, comics and paintings, the election was also an opportunity to express frustration with local government. He said he wants leaders to do more to address homelessness and the cost of living.

This election, he’s supporting Daniel Butierez, the Republican candidate for Congress in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District. He said Butierez’s approach to homelessness and addiction resonated with him, particularly his emphasis on mental health services and drug treatment.

“Butierez, I think, is more concerned. He actually wants people to go to detox centers to get off these drugs,” Spiro said.

Spiro said Butierez’s personal experience with homelessness gives him a perspective that he believes is missing from local leadership. “I think that really makes him even more so qualified to try to fix the problem,” he said.

Despite their frustrations, Leon said she believes change begins with neighbors helping one another, whether through volunteering, cleaning up streets or connecting people with resources.

“We give of ourselves, of our time, talking to people that someone does not even say hello to,” she said. “I would really like to see, with our vote today, some change, some real change — people who really care.”

A Navajo County Superior Court judge has ordered a voting location on the Navajo Nation to remain open through 8 p.m. after it opened late this morning.

Frances Sjoberg, an attorney with the Navajo Nation Department of Justice, told Votebeat that the late opening at the location, Hardrock Chapter House, wasn’t the fault of Navajo County. Poll workers were there on time, she said, but the building was closed.

“We thank the Court, Navajo County Election Officials, and Poll Workers for their hard work,” Sjoberg said in a statement. “Hardrock voters – if you haven’t already, get out and VOTE!”

— Sasha Hupka, Votebeat

University of Arizona students and others still in line at the voting center near campus as the polls neared closing were being fed by volunteers.

At 6:15 p.m. the line was about 60-80, mostly students. By 7 p.m. the line was dwindling. A Pima County spokesperson said anyone in line at 7 p.m. can vote, no matter how long it takes.

Mason Kumet

While New Mexico had reports of Department of Justice monitors allegedly violating election laws, Pima County was not aware of any issues at polls as of Tuesday afternoon.

Pima County spokesperson Mark Evans told Arizona Luminaria the region had seen election monitors, but officials did not know at which polling locations. There had not been any reports of problems related to the monitors, Evans added.

A New Mexico Secretary of State spokesperson told ProPublica that the office had received reports that verified DOJ monitors had been asking unusual questions and questioning voters in Bernalillo County.

“The New Mexico Department of Justice reached out to the DOJ Team Lead on our office’s behalf to address this reported behavior, and we received assurances it would be addressed,” the official said.

“Our team had a productive call with the New Mexico Secretary of State just a few minutes ago. We believe the issue is resolved and will not affect our ongoing monitoring for the rest of the day,” a DOJ spokesperson told PBS News.

While it’s unclear how many DOJ monitors were in Pima County or where they were stationed, in Maricopa County, there have been at least 20 federal monitors. A Maricopa County Elections Department official told ProPublica Tuesday morning that there were 10 pairs of two Department of Justice monitors roving voting locations throughout the county.

Jimmy Jenkins, the Department of Justice reporter for Bloomberg News, tweeted about spotting one pair of federal monitors at the Cartwright School District Annex polling location in Maryvale Tuesday afternoon. He described voters from the predominantly Latino community as being concerned about their presence due to ongoing fears surrounding immigration enforcement in their neighborhood.

A spokesperson from the Arizona Secretary of State’s office told Luminaria in an email it had not received any reports Tuesday of voter intimidation related to DOJ monitors.

Earlier in the day, however, the official U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement posted on X a statement at least one expert said amounted to voter intimidation.

“If you vote illegally, we will find you. We will track you down, arrest you and prosecute you,” the post reads. “There will be no escape.”

These posts, according to Menlo College Interim Provost Melissa R. Michelson, “can have the effect of scaring Latinos away from the polls.”

“These posts can have the effect (intended or not) to intimidate voters who might be perceived as possibly undocumented or to be non-citizens, or who are from mixed-status families,” Michelson said.

“In other words, because being Latino often means being profiled as being an immigrant (if not an undocumented immigrant), these sorts of messages can elicit fear among Latino citizens about how they might be challenged at the polls,” Michelson continued. “If they are from a mixed-status household, it might also raise concerns about bringing themselves to the attention of ICE agents who might then start asking questions.”

Reporting by Arizona Luminaria’s Chelsea Curtis, Yana Kunichoff, Becky Pallack, and ProPublica’s Jen Fifield

Voters turning in their mail-in, or early, ballots in at the polls on Election Day had the option to have their ballot counted on-site in front of them. It’s a new process that debuted in the 2026 Primary Election. Election officials and political leaders hope it speeds Arizona’s vote count, which often lags behind other states.

Voting experts have blamed the delays, in part, on the time needed to verify signatures on mail-in ballots turned in at polling sites on Election Day.

Historically, poll workers guided voters with mail-in ballots to skip the line and turn their ballots into an election worker who would check that the envelope was sealed and signed. The ballot would stay in a secure box that election workers would later open to check that signatures on the envelope matched signatures on file with the state.

During the midterm election, poll workers asked voters if they wanted to have their mail-in ballots tabulated. On Election Day, about 20 minutes before polls closed an Arizona Luminaria reporter turned in their mail-in ballot at a South Phoenix voting site that serves large numbers of Latino and Black voters.

A steady stream of voters rushed in before the 7 p.m. deadline to vote. While most were young voters of color, an older couple linking arms, leaning on each other, walked briskly into the polling place. Outside the door, about a dozen voters waited in line. Nearby, families with children waited patiently at concrete tables under the cool night sky, while their loved ones voted at the Academies at South Mountain school.

No poll worker asked the reporter if they wanted their ballot counted on site. When the reporter asked if the process was an option, a poll worker said yes, and directed them to a machine where election workers guided voters. There was still a line of voters waiting to cast their ballot in person.

An election worker’s instructions included: scanning a bar code on the mail-in ballot, confirming that all personal information on the screen was accurate and showing a proper ID to confirm identity.

Once all information was confirmed, the worker stamped the envelope that contained the ballot, and directed the voter to another worker near ballot tabulation machines. That worker instructed the voter to open the envelope.

Then, the worker ran the ballot through a center tabulator, and with a nod, offered an “I voted” sticker.

Polls are open until 7 p.m. Find a vote center in Pima County here.
After that, Arizona Luminaria will have results coverage for state and local races. The first results are expected at 8 p.m.

The parking lot at El Pueblo Senior Center stayed full throughout the afternoon Tuesday as a steady stream of voters walked in and out of the polling site.

Every time a car passed, Eva Carillo Dong waved and smiled. Many waved back, honked or gave her a thumbs up.

Carrillo Dong, a longtime community advocate on Tucson’s south side and former Sunnyside Unified School District school board member, sat in a lawn chair surrounded by political signs for U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva, State Rep. Betty Villegas and TUSD board candidate Jennifer Eckstrom.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “And then I see so many young people, you know, that’s what I really love is there’s so many young people here.”

Carrillo Dong said she’s seen voters of all ages, including many young and first-time voters going to the polls in groups, taking selfies. Families showed up to vote together, grandchildren with grandparents. Everyone seemed excited and proud to vote, she said.

One of those young voters was Aracely Rodriguez, 24, a Democrat voting for the second time.

Rodriguez comes from a household where she learned the importance of voting and being politically active.

One of the main issues she’s paid attention to this year is data center proposals, like Project Blue. She said she voted against Proposition 421 because she doesn’t want to empower Tucson Electric Power, after the company entered into a power service agreement with the developers of Project Blue in December.

Rodriguez said she would like to see elected officials push back against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s tactics.

“I hope that our elected officials will take charge to keep the brutality and the violence from escalating because, you know, we’re here, we’ve been here and we’re gonna keep being here,” Rodriguez said.

For more than 30 years, Carrillo Dong has sat at the El Pueblo Center polling site greeting voters and promoting the candidates she canvassed for. She’s used to seeing a lot of voters before work, during lunch and after 5 p.m., but she has never seen so many people voting throughout the entire day, she said.

“I just see a lot of enthusiasm for voting, and a lot of hope for voting,” Carrillo Dong said.

She said south side residents have especially been hit hard by economic impacts like the rising cost of gas and groceries and healthcare cuts brought on by the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” They’re also being impacted by the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement, which has resulted in families being separated.

“They know how important [voting] is for their neighbors, for their communities, for their families, for themselves,” she said. “Because everybody’s hurting.”

As she waved at a man arriving in an old, red SUV, the man smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

Open Secrets, a money-in-politics news organization, posted a list of the top donors in the 2026 election cycle Monday.

Of those biggest donors, shipping supplies company founder Richard Uihlein and his wife, Elizabeth, have donated to the Juan Ciscomani campaign, FEC records show. Paul Singer, Stephen Schwarzman and Ken Griffin have too.

Hedge fund founder Steve Mandel and his wife, Sue, gave to the JoAnna Mendoza campaign, FEC records show.

The Congressional District 6 race has been an expensive one. The Ciscomani campaign has spent about $7.3 million and the Mendoza campaign has spent around $10.4 million.

JoAnna Mendoza, the Democratic challenger for the closely contested Congressional District 6, canvassed with supporters on Tuesday afternoon in Casas Adobes.

Mendoza, a U.S. Marines veteran, thanked a group of about a dozen volunteers before taking off to knock on doors, with just hours until polls officially closed.

“We are going to win, I am confident of it, that we’re going to win, because we have to,” she said. “Failure is not an option, and Marines fight to win.”

Mendoza is facing off against GOP Rep. Juan Ciscomani, the two term incumbent. Election results in this congressional district have been tight. But Mendoza and Democrats are optimistic that the seat will flip this time, giving their party control of the House.

“This election cycle will be historic,” she said. “People will be talking about this decades from now.”

Students and staff hoping to cast their ballot at the Tucson First United Methodist Church polling station near the University of Arizona may have to wait, but they won’t be hungry.

As voters, mostly students, waited in line, volunteers began passing out slices of pizza to those waiting to cast their ballot.

According to Jessica Chalberg, one of the volunteers passing out pizza, the line was taking about 20 minutes, but had increased to about 45 minutes or more at 2:30 p.m. She said she had heard from students that some professors were canceling class so students didn’t have to worry about missing anything if they were waiting in line.

Alondra Brito, a UA student double majoring in psychology and Spanish was one of the students at the back of the line who snagged a slice of pizza.

Brito, who is from Glendale, said she was voting for her family, her community and the economy.

“It’s hard out here to work and study,” she said. On top of double majoring, Brito is working 25 hours a week in a campus job.

“The younger generation needs to show up and vote,” she added.

Michael McKisson

Rep. Juan Ciscomani cast his ballot in person on Tuesday at the Continental Ranch Community Center in Marana.

The GOP lawmaker faces another tight reelection race, after winning in 2024 by less than 11,000 votes. This time, he’s defending his seat from Democratic challenger JoAnna Mendoza.

“This is a really big day. I feel a lot of great energy,” Ciscomani told reporters before heading inside to cast his ballot.

His strategy has centered on energizing Republican voters and persuading them to come out to vote in person on Tuesday, rather than sit out the election altogether.

His message to voters: “Keeping the House and the Senate is as important as the presidential election that we had two years ago and that we’re going to have in two years,” he said.

Ciscomani was joined at the polling site by his parents, wife and other relatives.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it’s sent election monitors to all 50 states, referring to the move as its “largest monitoring effort in history.”
The department said in a news release it’s conducted election monitoring since the Voting Rights Act was enacted in 1965, but not to this degree.
There will be approximately 1,000 monitors and observers assigned across all 50 states, the news release states. In Arizona, monitors were assigned to Pima, Maricopa, Apache and Navajo counties.
Monitors will focus on compliance with federal voting rights laws, including protections against voter intimidation and suppression, as well as accessibility requirements for voters with disabilities.
Members of the public can report federal voting rights concerns through the DOJ election hotline at 1-800-253-3931 or by email at VEM@usdoj.gov.

When her husband and daughter got their ballots in the mail, Cathy Brown was left out.

“So I kind of looked at theirs and then I came out today,” she said after voting at the Armory Park Center this afternoon.

Brown, 63, says she is not sure why she didn’t get a ballot in the mail, but today asked poll workers to please put her back on the list.

“I’d rather vote by mail, cause then I know it’s done and I do it early,” said Brown, who’s retired from Fry’s Food Stores.

Today, it was casting her vote for Rep. Adelita Grijalva and some propositions that brought her out.

“I wanted to vote for Grijalva. I just wanted to make sure she got in and then a couple of the issues that were on the ballot, the propositions,” she said. “I don’t like these people that don’t vote and then complain about what happens afterwards,” she said. “You can’t really say too much if you don’t come out to vote.”

Voter turnout is gaining momentum in Pima County, with more than 27,000 people casting ballots in person and another 6,400 submitting mail ballots through ID-verified drop-off locations by the halfway point on Election Day, according to a post on X from the Pima County Elections Department.

Ahead of Election Day the county had received 293,761 early ballots.

Nearly 3,000 ballots were cast in the first hour of Election Day alone, signaling a strong start to the day, another earlier post states.

Just under six hours remain before the 7 p.m. deadline.

Arizona’s governor’s race ranks sixth nationally among contests where young voters could decide the outcome, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or CIRCLE, at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.

Gov. Katie Hobbs is seeking reelection after winning in 2022 by less than 1 percentage point, with 70% of young voters backing her, according to CIRCLE.

CIRCLE’s Youth Electoral Significance Index combines more than a dozen measures, including youth population, voting history and how close a race is. The researchers say the rankings do not predict turnout or results.

CIRCLE says Arizona’s youth turnout has been about average in recent elections, that young Latinos have voted at low rates, and that the state lacks automatic, same-day and pre-registration. A separate CIRCLE analysis of voter file data as of Oct. 19 found Arizona has 3% more people ages 18-29 registered than at a similar point before the 2022 midterms, matching the national increase.

Nationally, the analysis found 8% more Latino youth registered, and neighboring New Mexico, which began automatic voter registration in July 2025, had 27% more young people registered.

Read the rankings and the registration analysis.

The line of voters waiting to cast their ballot in person began to spill out of the Oro Valley Public Library on Tuesday morning.

The polling site was buzzing with activity as voters arrived, with several representatives of local candidates making a last minute pitch. Volunteer poll watchers also helped orient voters .

In addition to the statewide elections, voters here in Oro Valley will decide one of the most contested congressional elections, choosing between GOP incumbent Rep. Juan Ciscomani or Democratic challenger Joanne Mendoza.

Voters like Stacey Simmons from Oro Valley reported no issues at the polls.

“It’s our first time voting here,” she said. “I actually appreciated that they were actually looking at voter ID, not something that happens where I come from in California.”

As a recent Arizona resident, she said she voted for candidates with conservative platforms, like Ciscomani.

“I’m extremely opposed to how the Democratic Party is progressing, so that is my biggest factor,” she said.

That sentiment was echoed by Tucson resident Joseph Barreda, who also cast his vote for Republican candidates on Tuesday based on their handling of border security.

“I want to maintain the integrity of our nation’s border,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to allow every person in the whole world to come and overflow our economic systems and our social systems.”

But the direction of the country persuaded Tucson resident Michael Prochnau to vote for Democrats in this election, like Mendoza.

He said the current administration’s handling of the economy, the war in Iran, and concerns over corruption, topped his list of issues.

“I’m hoping for a landslide for the Democrats,” he said. “They’re not a perfect party as well, and I definitely think there are some issues there. But the current state of affairs, I feel like we need a change.”