Pima County Supervisors Tell Trump to Keep His Hands Off Arizona Elections

Local Officials Draw the Line

Pima County supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to tell the Trump administration exactly where it can stick its latest executive order — the one that attempts to seize federal control over how states run their elections.

The resolution, brought by Supervisor Matt Heinz, directly opposes Trump's January executive order that would create a nationwide voter list and restrict mail-in voting. The measure passed with only Steve Christy, the board's lone Republican, voting no.

The language pulls no punches: Pima County "opposes any federal executive action that unlawfully interferes with Pima County's election administration or restricts lawful access to vote-by-mail." It affirms that Arizona elections "must be administered in accordance with the United States Constitution, the Arizona Constitution, relevant federal laws and the Arizona Revised Statutes, not by unilateral presidential decree."

That last part — "not by unilateral presidential decree" — is the kind of clarity we need more of right now.

The Big Lie Comes Full Circle

Board Chair Jen Allen connected the dots that need connecting. "The people who brought you the 'Big Lie' and January 6th want us to believe that they are the ones best poised to run elections," she said. "And here in Pima County we will have none of that."

Allen praised County Recorder Gabriella Cazares-Kelly and Elections Director Constance Hargrove for running safe, effective, accessible elections "against a backdrop of more than half a decade of disinformation campaign that has been led by President Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election."

This is the authoritarian playbook in action: spend years lying about election fraud, use those lies to justify seizing control of the election system itself. It is not subtle.

Bipartisan Pushback Where It Counts

Supervisor Rex Scott pointed out something crucial: county officials across Arizona, regardless of party, know their elections are "conducted accurately, fairly, safely and securely" — despite what Trump and his allies claim.

Scott, who has served on the legislative policy committee for the County Supervisors Association since 2021, noted that when state legislators have introduced bills questioning county election integrity, the committee — with a Republican majority — has unanimously recommended opposing them.

"The majority of the members are Republicans, but every time those measures have come before us, we have recommended unanimously that they be opposed," Scott said.

This matters. The people actually running elections, including Republicans, are united in rejecting Trump's election lies and his attempts to federalize a system that the Constitution explicitly leaves to the states.

Arizona Fights Back in Court

The same day Trump signed his executive order, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Oregon's top election official pledged to sue. By Friday, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced the state had joined a coalition of 23 other states in federal court challenging the order.

The legal theory here is straightforward: the Constitution gives states the authority to run their own elections. Trump does not get to override that with an executive order, no matter how many lies he tells about voter fraud.

What This Means

Trump's executive order is not about election security — Arizona's elections are already secure, as county officials across the political spectrum will tell you. It is about laying the groundwork to control election outcomes.

When you spend years claiming elections are rigged, then use those claims to justify taking them over, you are not fixing a problem. You are creating one.

Pima County's resolution is a small but significant act of resistance. It puts the Trump administration on notice that local officials will not simply roll over for unconstitutional federal overreach. And it joins a growing legal and political coalition pushing back against an administration that views democratic norms as obstacles to be bulldozed.

The people who actually run elections know they work. The person claiming they do not is the same one who tried to overturn the last one. Pima County supervisors are calling that what it is — and refusing to play along.