← Election Series · Down-ballot coverage · Arizona
No endorsement
The race
The South Mountain Precinct elects a justice of the peace this cycle. A justice of the peace presides over the precinct's justice court — traffic and misdemeanor cases, civil claims up to $10,000, evictions, and orders of protection. Arizona does not require a justice of the peace to be an attorney, and the office carries a four-year term. This race is on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot as a vote, not a cancelled election: Arizona's cancellation statute, A.R.S. § 16-410, by its terms covers only elections held under Title 15, Title 48, or § 16-822, and Ballotpedia's general-election tables list this race on the general ballot with a single candidate. The sole general-election candidate is Rebecca Rios (Democratic), the incumbent — Ballotpedia's general-election table marks her with an (i).
Rebecca Rios (Democratic, incumbent) took this bench in January 2023 after winning the 2022 general election, per her published résumé profile and Ballotpedia's election records, which also record that she defeated the incumbent in the 2022 Democratic primary. Before the bench she spent most of three decades in the Arizona Legislature: the State Senate for District 23 (2005–2011), the State House for District 27 (2015–2019, as House Minority Leader), and the State Senate again (2019–2023, as Senate Democratic Leader). Between legislative stints she worked in government and community affairs for Florence Copper. Credits: few precinct judges anywhere bring this depth of experience with how the laws they apply are written. The honest counterweight: that career was partisan legislative leadership, not courtroom work — she came to judging in 2023 after a life in caucus politics, and voters weighing judicial temperament get only one term of bench service to judge it by.
OUR CALL
Our call: no endorsement — uncontested race. Rios's record is long, real, and documented — and it is a political record, offered for a judicial seat, in a race with no alternative. We print both columns and leave the seat to the voters who have her. Search documented: Ballotpedia's general-election table and 2022 election records, her published résumé profile (legislative and judicial dates), and the current officeholder listing.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.
Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.
--- Sources
- Ballotpedia, Municipal elections in Maricopa County, Arizona (2026) — general-election tables — https://ballotpedia.org/Municipal_elections_in_Maricopa_County,_Arizona_(2026)
- Rebecca Rios, published résumé profile (Bold.pro) — https://us.bold.pro/my/rebecca-rios
- Maricopa County justice courts — justices of the peace by precinct (current-officeholder listing, compiled from the state judiciary) — https://www.mobettausa.com/counties/az/maricopa.html
- Arizona Revised Statutes § 16-410 (cancellation of certain elections — by its terms limited to elections under Title 15, Title 48, or § 16-822) — https://www.azleg.gov/ars/16/00410.htm
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.