• Slug: Cochise County. 530 words.
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By Owen Alfonso
Special for Cronkite News

BISBEE – Though the presidential and congressional races will be a priority for many Arizonans come November, Cochise County residents will also vote on local offices, including the Board of Supervisors.

Arizona’s most southeastern county, sharing borders with New Mexico and Sonora, Mexico, is home to roughly 125,000 Arizonans in rural towns like Tombstone, Sierra Vista, Douglas and Naco.

Continue reading “All 3 Cochise County Board of Supervisors seats are on Nov. 5 ballot”

• Slug: Halloween Dementia. 450 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Lizeth Adriana Calderon
Special for Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Halloween is a fun, spooky holiday for many, but for those living with dementia, it can be frightening. Halloween can cause sensory overload and disrupt the routine for people with dementia, said Shannon Lindemer, senior psychometrist with public health program Nosotros Comprometidos a Su Salud.

Sensory overload happens when the brain gets overwhelmed by too much information from the five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch and sound.

Continue reading “Halloween can be fun for some but challenging for others, especially those with dementia”

• Slug: Election Misinformation. 550 words.
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By Jamie Montoya
Special for Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Maricopa County is ramping up transparency and education efforts in response to growing election skepticism.

Maricopa County is the nation’s second-largest voting jurisdiction and represents more than 60% of Arizona voters.

Continue reading “Maricopa County boosts transparency to counter misinformation ahead of 2024 election”

• Slug: Ballot Initiative Language. 550 words.
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By Sona Gevorgyan
Special for Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Ballot initiatives allow citizens to vote on new laws. As a result, voters have a direct say in how the government operates.

In Arizona, voters will have a say on key issues like abortion access, immigration and the state minimum wage through the 13 propositions on their ballots. Research has shown ballot wording impacts voters’ decisions.

According to a 2019 study published in the journal Electoral Studies, simple ballot language can lead to an incomplete representation of initiatives.

Continue reading “Plain language for ballot initiatives: Why it matters”

• Slug: Counting Ballots. 560 words.
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By Eddie McCoven
Special for Cronkite News

PHOENIX – With more than 2.4 million registered voters in Maricopa County and the increasing number of allegations around election integrity, counting ballots for the 2024 presidential election is no easy task.

Maricopa County Deputy Elections Director Jennifer Liewer said the county goes to “extensive lengths” to make sure all legal votes are counted.

“Our systems, our personnel, our workers are all trained to ensure that we do not disenfranchise voters,” Liewer said. “We want you to know that if you are a legally registered voter in Maricopa County, that your ballot will be cast.”

Continue reading “How Maricopa County counts millions of ballots”

• Slug: Orphaned Wells. 965 words.
• Photo, map available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Gabrielle Wallace
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Many oil and gas wells across Arizona with no known owners leak methane into the environment, which tribal, state and federal agencies are responsible for cleaning up.

These wells – referred to as “orphaned” – are often not properly maintained and can lead to surface and groundwater contamination causing pollution, health issues and threats to wildlife.

Continue reading “Well, well, well: Taxpayers pay the price for oil and gas wells leaking methane as multiple entities work to plug them”

• Slug: AHCCCS Funding. 550 words.
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By Lizeth Adriana Calderon
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Roughly a fifth of expecting and new mothers in Arizona receive little to no prenatal care, which can lead to poor health outcomes for mothers and their children, according to the March of Dimes report from last year.

Overall the health of mothers and infants in the U.S. is on decline, partially because more than a third of Americans live in maternal care deserts, according to the subsequent March of Dimes report. A maternity care desert is an area where access to reproductive health care is limited or women face other obstacles in their ability to access care.

Continue reading “On-call maternity care in rural Arizona boosted by AHCCCS funding”

• Slug: Religious Poll Watchers. 590 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Tony Gutiérrez
Special for Cronkite News

Following reports of armed “poll watchers” at Arizona polling places during the last several election cycles, two groups have launched initiatives inviting people of faith to help promote peace at the polls.

Faiths United to Save Democracy is actively recruiting “poll chaplains” to serve at various poll locations, while the Arizona Faith Network, in partnership with Election Protection Arizona, is inviting people of faith to be “peacekeepers.” Medina Moore, voting rights organizer for the Arizona Faith Network, said both groups support each other in their missions.

Continue reading “Religious groups recruit volunteers to provide peaceful presence at Arizona polls”

• Slug: Spotting Disinformation. 490 words.
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By Ana Burk
Special for Cronkite News

PHOENIX – In this era of social media, a seasoned political reporter shares key strategies for identifying disinformation during election season.

The American Psychological Association reports that over the past few decades, people’s attention spans have decreased due to constant distractions from phones and other devices. People tend to only read the first line of a story, or watch the first few seconds of a video.

Continue reading “Election Day essentials: The do’s and don’ts for spotting disinformation”

• Slug: Maricopa County Election Security. 700 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Aaron Stigile
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Rallies outside of Maricopa County offices, threats and intimidation directed toward election workers and false election conspiracy theories spread by politicians are all problems Maricopa County officials have had to deal with in the past.

Now, officials are preparing security measures and fighting back against misinformation in the run-up to Nov. 5.

Continue reading “Maricopa County officials confident but wary of threats ahead of Election Day”

• Slug: Senate Young Voters. 800 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Nash Darragh
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – With just a week to go until Election Day, all eyes remain on the swing state of Arizona. The state’s 11 electoral votes have been increasingly sought after by both Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris over the past few months.

But Republican Kari Lake and Democrat Ruben Gallego are also aiming to secure the final undecided votes from a generation that is voting for the first time.

Continue reading “Arizona Senate candidates Kari Lake, Ruben Gallego targeting younger voters”

• Slug: LDS Voters Immigration. 960 words.
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By Mia Osmonbekov
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have launched get-out-the-vote coalitions targeting the close to half a million Latter-day Saints in Arizona, a battleground state where every voting bloc will count in the presidential race.

Trump pitched himself to Arizona LDS voters while campaigning in Prescott Valley earlier this month. During an online “LDS for Trump” event, Trump told attendees that “we really have the same values.”

Continue reading “‘Not reconcilable’: Latter-day Saints in Arizona break with Trump on immigration, which could help Harris”