Fontes Grades Arizona Midterm Election an A
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes gave the November 3, 2026 midterm election an A or A-, citing problems including flooding and Election Day outages.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Elections
Live Poll
Do you trust that elections in your area are run accurately and fairly?
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, graded the November 3, 2026 midterm election an A or A- at a November 4 news conference at the state Capitol. Fontes won reelection over state Rep. Alex Kolodin, a Republican lawyer.
Why it matters
The grade came from the state's top election official after a midterm in which Democrats also won the governor's race, with Katie Hobbs defeating Rep. Andy Biggs. Fontes's assessment offers an official account of how the state's voting process performed despite localized disruptions.
Fontes assigned the election an A or A- grade, and a judge extended polling hours in Navajo County by one hour. The extract does not detail the criteria used for the grade or the scope of Maricopa County's reported outages.
The players
Adrian Fontes
Adrian Fontes is the Arizona Secretary of State and a Democrat who oversees the state's elections.
Alex Kolodin
Alex Kolodin is a Republican state representative and lawyer who was previously known for an effort to help President Donald Trump challenge the 2020 election results.
Katie Hobbs
Katie Hobbs is Arizona's Democratic governor, who won her race against Andy Biggs in the same midterm election.
Andy Biggs
Andy Biggs is a Republican U.S. representative from Arizona who had been tied to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Kari Lake
Kari Lake is a former Arizona television anchor and Republican candidate who sought to sow doubt about elections in Maricopa County.
The details
Fontes made the remarks during a post-election news conference at the Arizona state Capitol. Flooding damaged homes and roads in the Navajo Nation community of Rock Point, and a judge ordered Navajo County to keep its polls open an hour later than scheduled.
Timeline
Nov. 3, 2026: Arizona midterm election held.
Nov. 4, 2026: Fontes gave the post-election news conference and graded the election.
Political Context
Kolodin was known for an effort to help President Donald Trump challenge the 2020 election results, and Kari Lake later sought to sow doubt about elections in Maricopa County. Fontes's A-range grade for the 2026 midterm stands in contrast to those earlier challenges.
Voters in Navajo County and Rock Point saw polling hours extended and flooding affect access to polls. The Secretary of State's grade reflects the state's overall assessment of how the election was run.
The takeaway
Localized disruptions such as flooding and power outages can occur even when statewide election administration is graded highly. Readers can follow the Arizona Secretary of State's office for further post-election reporting.
Further reading
For more on how the state runs its contests, see Elections coverage for Arizona.
Source note: This article includes information reported by AZ Central.
Live Poll
Do you trust that elections in your area are run accurately and fairly?
