Katie Hobbs is going to be Arizona’s next secretary of state – and a heartbeat away from governor – absent a sudden and unlikely last-minute burst of votes from Maricopa County favoring Steve Gaynor, her Republican opponent.

New election returns Sunday put Democrat Katie Hobbs in striking distance in the race for secretary of state.

Lawyers in the racial profiling case against the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office were unable to agree on a recommended candidate to monitor the agency's operations to ensure it isn't making unconstitutional arrests.

Lawyers in the racial profiling case against the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office face a Monday deadline for recommending who should be appointed to monitor the agency's operations to ensure it isn't making unconstitutional arrests.

Both sides are now appealing a federal judge's ruling that Maricopa County's prosecution of people who arrange to be smuggled conflicts with federal law.

County elections officials across Arizona are mailing early ballots to voters for the May 18 special election on a proposed temporary sales tax increase to help balance the state budget.