Precinct committeemen, the party faithful who show up at legislative district meetings and encourage people to vote, occasionally get a chance to have an even more influential role in state politics.

After Arizona Senate Democrats were left short-handed during a special session on education funding last October, lawmakers are pushing for a change that would require legislative vacancies be filled promptly.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed Tempe Democratic Rep. Andrew Sherwood to the state Senate.

Senate Democrats will be short a vote if lawmakers are called back to the Capitol for a special session this week.

Democrats in Tempe and west Mesa nominated two state representatives and a local party leader as candidates to fill a vacant Senate seat.

The head of the state's child welfare agency wants to scrap laws and rules that require caseworkers to do a full investigation of every complaint of child neglect.

Democratic Sen. Ed Ableser of Tempe retook his crown for missing the most votes of any lawmaker this year, after losing the title last year to former Democratic Sen. Steve Gallardo. Ableser voted on only 73 percent of the bills that came before the Senate this year.

The state Senate confirmed Greg McKay as the new director of the Department of Child Safety despite objections from some legislators who say they lacked all the necessary information to vet Gov. Doug Ducey’s appointee.

It may be hours before polls close and votes are counted in Arizona’s 2014 primary elections, but for a handful of candidates, today is just a formality. Five senators and two representatives are running unopposed in both the primary and the November general election, ensuring their place at the Capitol. And election is all but assured for many more candidates who are running on one-party-dominant districts.

The Senate gave preliminary approval to Gov. Jan Brewer’s proposal to create a new child safety department over objections from some Republican lawmakers who were outraged by the level of new spending being appropriated without the accountability measures they desired.