[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6455306,"mediaKeyId","5847800-5ab534c24ca99ccbc554fc6bb20a4845","parentId",5847800,"title","Maricopa elections officials recommend 178 voting-precinct adjustments ahead of 2026 elections","audioSeconds",3831,"startMs",3837000,"endMs",5188,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5847800-5ab534c24ca99ccbc554fc6bb20a4845&start=3837&end=5","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5847800-5ab534c24ca99ccbc554fc6bb20a4845/thumbnail_3837000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6455306/Maricopa-County/Arizona/Maricopa-elections-officials-recommend-178-voting-precinct-adjustments-ahead-of-2026-elections","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6455306-7accc95491ae7120e3d877803cd7a89b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770511672&Signature=gGILOcY3hs6~hEzwI98QL3I0ba9rH7wRqXhf2lBDiqnAlSCU7MRj38CFPQuGw2N0tzTz13U812ShbIHvaVbNzkywsIzcmIHHSwKzFT01CpqVZWCqWQKXbe4ecTxIHCWd~Yez3wC2xispYLMKLG4otJzp3JKeAXZt15KBVFzKkcTe8JVA~QSvNsomxPh~EFjcrQqzhOhKznNJSNc2oMj3~knnxbyKCB6MxIUdeBPU2T0J5bQmgtdr8Mo7bnf4uhMpTJepK5FcLuqd3eQDDaV4sl~l-jutoVacb2oWpeQ3cT2BWNRFNW3N8KdK9~xsgDyJ2Veh-1WgtLiEnEQmYBnm2g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Maricopa County","date","2025-09-29T16:24:34Z","article","Maricopa County Elections Director Scott Jarrett and assistant county manager Zach Shura presented the Board of Supervisors with a targeted plan to adjust voting precinct lines in limited areas following the statewide redistricting and recent justice-court precinct proposals.

Jarrett and Shura said the county currently has 935 voting precincts, and their recommendation would leave 739 precincts unchanged while changing 178 precincts, removing 18 (17 of them no-voter precinct slivers), and adding 39 new precincts. The changes, the presenters said, target four narrow categories: reduce precincts with more than roughly 5,000 registered voters, align precincts with justice court precincts that are bound by statute, move precinct limits to freeway medians where requested by law enforcement to reduce miscoding of traffic citations, and remove precinct splits that cut across city wards or other local districts.

Jarrett told the board that precinct boundaries are the building blocks for ballot styles and election canvasses, and that the county aims to limit precinct size to reduce the number of ballot styles and to improve in-person operations. He said the county will notify party leaders and precinct committeemen and that the practical impact on currently elected precinct committeemen is minimal: they retain their positions through their terms and, if their precinct changes, will collect signatures or seek election in their revised precinct for future terms.

The presenters said they conducted public outreach, including recorded virtual meetings, press releases and targeted notices to city and town clerks, legislative district chairs and county and state party chairs. They reported roughly 40 attendees across two public meetings and said public feedback was largely positive; one request to redraw a Rio Verde precinct by ZIP code was declined because ZIP-code-based precincts would have split communities.

Jarrett and Shura explained legal and operational timelines: state statute requires the Board to approve precinct changes by Oct. 1 for election-administration purposes, and, if approved, the changes would take effect Jan. 2 for future elections. County staff said detailed maps and an Excel list of all recommended changes are posted at maricopa.vote and repr ecincting.maricopa.vote (reprecincting.maricopa.vote) and that they will notify party leaders again after the board vote and discuss the changes at the county chairs’ pre-election meeting.

Ending: Elections staff asked the board to approve the targeted precinct changes to improve election logistics and reduce oversized precincts. Staff said they will continue outreach to parties and municipal clerks and will provide the final maps and implementation steps following any board approval.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Board of Supervisors Informal Meeting September 29, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Maricopa County Elections Director Scott Jarrett and assistant county manager Zach Shura presented the Board of Supervisors with a targeted plan to adjust voting precinct lines in limited areas following the statewide redistricting and recent justice-court precinct proposals.","taxTitle","Maricopa County, Arizona","taxId",2206,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6455311,"Maricopa judges ask supervisors to split White Tank precinct to ease overloaded justice courts",3066,412000,3478000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5847800-5ab534c24ca99ccbc554fc6bb20a4845&start=412&end=3478","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5847800-5ab534c24ca99ccbc554fc6bb20a4845/thumbnail_412000.jpg","/articles/6455311/Maricopa-County/Arizona/Maricopa-judges-ask-supervisors-to-split-White-Tank-precinct-to-ease-overloaded-justice-courts","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6455311-789bd05e7c50b96fcac7b6c6b24bff51/orig.mp4?Expires=1770511672&Signature=M2VZatf6U3F2QgpU148M5vBcvTwz4WEJgiOaGJVR-EAxRVndqsTQK5ZdvPdJNVXaOOzfvys2SRekpeLK4sIZDjtZscrrWB4ixP3AAdkLY81peNZPY0lkECWzZkJZAJTxdBqbOQFbhY0vDhe2vOcAAQBivwHjfEFNLY6ErOk9HD7qlQ7yG3OMJ7JVX4wVInj2s-qT~nv-AuUbg5MdwaWi~CW5c-zKCx5Lrv4o232QTWFwJ9DisxyVzBuSPWV~arSTb6PQ-tp7rzUCHx~Qt0~8kUWNTbpG-7T2bFT5w-IWj3UaXfGjs3F~YZ0J5VM8H5iGMSv45BO1xABCcbSF6ZBeCw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Judges from Maricopa County justice courts told the Board of Supervisors during a presentation that several precincts are handling caseloads above the statutory productivity threshold and asked the board to approve a plan that would split the White Tank Justice Court precinct and redraw boundaries across the county.

The request, delivered by Judge Lenore Driggs, presiding justice of the peace for the Arcadia Biltmore Justice Precinct, and Judge Heidi Owens of the White Tank Justice Court, emphasized rising filings and staff strain. Judge Driggs said justice courts in Maricopa County recorded 331,191 case filings in 2024 and more than 160,000 filings in the first six months of 2025; she said traffic tickets account for about 40% of justice-court workload. Driggs cited Arizona Revised Statutes Title 22 and the statutory judicial productivity credit (JPC) formula as the basis for precinct sizing and thresholds.

The judges said the county uses JPCs to measure workload; a precinct that records more than 1,200 JPCs triggers a statutory requirement for the Board of Supervisors to create additional courts or redraw precinct lines. Judge Owens told the board that White Tank’s JPCs rose from about 1,145 in May 2024 to 1,337 by November 2024 and to 1,568 by the date of the presentation. She described staff burnout, maximum physical capacity at White Tank facilities, and “errors starting” as employees are rushed.

The presentation laid out a plan to split the White Tank precinct geographically along Interstate 10, keeping the top half as White Tank with Judge Owens and creating a new precinct for the bottom half with its own judge and the current constable. The presenters said the split would also absorb portions of bordering high-volume precincts—Country Meadows and Hassayampa—to rebalance JPC totals. Judges said the proposed map generally seeks an average target of roughly 900 JPCs per court, which presenters described as “the goal” for manageable workload.

Presenters noted limited physical capacity in the West Valley: the Southwest Regional Center (where White Tank is housed) was built with shells for two additional courtrooms, but one shell currently houses adult probation and the other would require an estimated $1.2 million build-out to open as a new court. The judges said that, if the board approves boundary changes by the statutory deadline for elections, new precinct lines would need to be in place for January 2026 election administration; a new judge elected in that cycle would take office in 2027 unless the board appointed a judge earlier and funded an earlier build-out or used temporary space and a pro tem judge in the short term.

Supervisors pressed for alternatives and longer-term fixes. Supervisor Stewart and others asked whether the county could budget to open a second West Valley courtroom sooner or temporarily reassign staff, lease space, or use technology to reduce administrative load. Presenters said staff-sharing within regional centers, temporary staff loans from other courts and tech improvements (including translation aids and a move toward e-filing systems) have helped but are not sufficient to resolve the overload in the busiest precincts.

Presenters warned the board that growth trends mean the county likely will need further adjustments in coming years. They recommended the board adopt the proposed precinct boundary changes to relieve immediate burdens and offered to revisit the plan as filings and growth projections evolve.

Ending: The judges asked the Board of Supervisors to adopt the proposed plan to rebalance justice court workloads and relieve overburdened court staff. Presenters said the plan is intended as a near-term solution and that population and construction projections make additional action likely in the future.","Judges and court administrators told the Board of Supervisors that several justice court precincts—most notably White Tank—exceed statutory workload limits and proposed redrawing precinct boundaries and creating a new court to rebalance cases and relieve staff burnout.","actionData","errors"]

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Maricopa elections officials recommend 178 voting-precinct adjustments ahead of 2026 elections

Maricopa judges ask supervisors to split White Tank precinct to ease overloaded justice courts