Jen Fifield
@JenAFifield
Reporter in Arizona covering elections and voting news for @VotebeatUS. Come here for the truth, stay for the trolls. DMs open.
EXCLUSIVE: A federal agency has halted election security activities, ended funding for a threat monitoring system, and is taking action against certain employees who monitored election misinformation, an agency official confirmed to state officials in email obtained by Votebeat.
A judge in @maricopacounty ruled the cast vote record falls under the same privacy protections as physical ballots and is not part of the public record. With the cvr, we knew the share of full slate voters, and how federal only voters voted. It's the best grifter debunking tool…
Incredible article by @JenAFifield & @VotebeatUS This part seems really important
Two days after U.S. airstrikes on Iran, hackers swapped out photos on the election results site with images of Ayatollah Khomeini. Officials cite the “sophistication and persistence of the attacks.” votebeat.org/arizona/2025/0…
Will Maricopa County be forced to give out a database that show the votes cast in an election, ballot by ballot? A judge just ruled on it... and the answer is in my newsletter coming out later today. Please subscribe (it's free): votebeat.org/arizona/subscr…
"Proponents have cited new jobs and an economic boost as support for the project. Local critics have warned that the project would be a drain on Tucson’s water, energy and environment." azluminaria.org/2025/07/21/ama…
This story is so informative. Breaks down decades of local political fights that led us here and easily explains the state's river authority system. A must read by @neenareports and @keribla. houstonchronicle.com/news/investiga… #txlege
The state budget included no new funding to grow the small staff charged with overseeing Arizona’s school voucher program, leaving the Dept of Education with just a dozen employees to review spending that is expected to reach $1 billion next school year. kjzz.org/politics/2025-…
The cyberattack occurred two days after the June 21 U.S. bombing of Iran. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security had issued a warning the day after the airstrikes that cyberattacks by “pro-Iranian hacktivists are likely."
NEW: Hackers who breached Arizona election website aimed at other agencies, too. The top cybersecurity official for the state's Department of Homeland Security tells me he believes Iran was likely involved, given the image uploaded, methods & persistence votebeat.org/arizona/2025/0…
NEW: Hackers who breached Arizona election website aimed at other agencies, too. The top cybersecurity official for the state's Department of Homeland Security tells me he believes Iran was likely involved, given the image uploaded, methods & persistence votebeat.org/arizona/2025/0…
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz) was stopped Capitol Hill police on his way into the Senate just now, asked for some ID, to which I believe Gallego responded "are you kidding me"
In CA most voters mail their ballot in an envelope that needs to be opened w/ a signature that needs to be verified & many are received after Election Day In Japan, voters go to a location, write candidate name on paper & it's counted on the spot. Source: www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ne…
Tokyo has nearly as many people as the entire state of California, yet they were able to count their votes in just a few hours. Why does it take California weeks to count the votes?
A hacker gained access to the Arizonas Secretary of State’s candidate portal and changed all candidate photos on the election results pages from 2016 to 2024 to this photo of an Iranian Ayatollah, according to the office. Full story in quoted tweet.
FULL STORY: Hacker changed candidate photos on Arizona election results website votebeat.org/arizona/2025/0…
ICYMI, from Michigan: Many voters could benefit from a ballot in Arabic, but the law isn’t on their side, via @Hayley__Harding. Story: votebeat.org/michigan/2025/…
NEW: Madison clerk was on a cookie-baking staycation as missing-ballot mess unfolded votebeat.org/wisconsin/2025…
Update: The hacker changed the candidates' headshots to an image of the Iranian Ayatollah, the leader of Iran, with Persian words that were favorable to Iran. The hacker replaced all of the 2024 general election candidate photos on the election results page with this image.
New: A hacker gained access to the web portal Arizona candidates use to upload info about themselves and changed candidate headshots that were live on the election results website, three weeks before the special congressional primary election, @VotebeatUS has learned. Story in 🧵
The Arizona Department of Homeland Security was alerted, and the investigation of whether private candidate information was accessed continues.
New: A hacker gained access to the web portal Arizona candidates use to upload info about themselves and changed candidate headshots that were live on the election results website, three weeks before the special congressional primary election, @VotebeatUS has learned. Story in 🧵