Political pundits have been bloviating about Rep. Sam Crump and Sen. Pamela Gorman going head to head to succeed U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (whenever that opportunity arises) and pointing to votes on the budget that the other might use in a campaign hit piece. No issue is more central to their candidacies than taxes.

How late can a special election be ordered and still keep the November 3 election date? Election officials told our reporter today (Aug. 10), that deadlines may be statutorily dictated, but that doesn't mean they are etched in stone.

If lawmakers are going to put Gov. Jan Brewer's temporary tax hike proposal on the November ballot, they may want to do it soon. Maricopa County must order the paper for its ballots by July 16 in order to comply with the 26-day early-voting period mandated by Arizona law, according to Maricopa County Elections Director Karen Osborne. The orders can be placed past the deadline, she said, but each additional day likely will mean one fewer day of early voting.

The U.S. Supreme Court this week narrowly interpreted a key section of the Voting Rights Act, giving Arizona municipalities and government entities the ability to apply for exemptions from what would otherwise be strict Justice Department oversight of election practices.

Sen. John Huppenthal says he has no intention of resigning after an online publication accused him of violating the state's resign-to-run law by collecting nominating petition signatures for another elected post.

Former Tempe Mayor Neil Giuliano is expected to announce his intention to run for governor in 2010, but the former Republican switched parties last year and, apparently, is planning to run as a Democrat.

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission is scheduled to decide whether to sanction and possibly remove District 10 Rep. Doug Quelland from office on May 15. Quelland, who ran a publicly funded campaign in 2008, has been accused of failing to report a $15,000 political consulting contract on his 2008 campaign finance reports.

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission has postponed a decision that could result in the removal from office of Rep. Doug Quelland, buying commissioners more time to unravel a soured relationship between the north Phoenix Republican and a Valley political consultant.

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission this morning could decide to take the monumental step of beginning a process to remove north Phoenix Rep. Doug Quelland from office.

Former state lawmaker Karen Johnson said an accident in her family has led her to reconsider plans to run for governor in 2010. The reversal came about two weeks after Johnson, a Mesa Republican, had filed the necessary paperwork to form a committee to explore a campaign for governor.