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ABC News (US)
· collected 2026-10-06 · by JOSH KELETY Associated Press
President Donald Trump criticized election officials in Maricopa County, Arizona, after approximately 3,000 ballots were mistakenly mailed early to voters due to a vendor error. The incident has no impact on those who received the ballots early but prompted the president to accuse Maricopa of dishonesty during his remarks about voting ahead of the midterm elections. Runbeck Election Services admitted responsibility for the mistake and stressed it was unintentional, emphasizing that all affected ballots remain valid.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
President Donald Trump criticized election officials in Arizona’s Maricopa County after 3,126 ballots were mistakenly mailed early to voters six days before their scheduled delivery due to a vendor error by Runbeck Election Services. Despite the county recorder's office stating that this mistake would not affect voters who received the ballots, Trump said on Monday that Maricopa should “be ashamed of themselves” and called it "a very, very dishonest county." The incident occurred in the context of increasing rhetoric around voting as Election Day approached for the midterms where control of Congress was at stake. Maricopa County has about 2.5 million registered voters, making it a significant electoral battleground.
Written for “Trump Election Criticism” on 2026-10-06,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning: leans left for article 59106 (medium confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-06
Trump criticizes election officials in Arizona’s Maricopa County over error
President Donald Trump is criticizing election officials in Arizona’s Maricopa County after about 3,000 ballots were mistakenly mailed early to voters
PHOENIX --
asserted
ballots → criticize → voters
President Donald Trump on Monday criticized election officials in Arizona's Maricopa County after about 3,000 ballots were mistakenly mailed early to voters.
asserted
ballots → criticize → voters
The miscue, blamed on a vendor error, would have no effect on the voters who received the ballots, the county recorder's office said.
asserted
office → blame → ballots
Maricopa County has about 2.5 million registered voters.
asserted
County → have → voters
The president was responding to a reporter’s question when he said Maricopa, the most populous county in the battleground state and home to Phoenix, should “be ashamed of themselves.”
asserted
Maricopa → respond → themselves
“Now they’re saying it was an error,” Trump said.
asserted
Trump → say → ?
The president, as he typically does ahead of an election, has been ramping up his rhetoric around voting as Election Day draws near in this year's midterm elections, with control of Congress at stake.
asserted
control → do → stake
His latest comments referred to a vendor error that came to light over the weekend.
asserted
that → refer → weekend
The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, which is run by Republican Recorder Justin Heap, said Sunday that Runbeck Election Services told the office that it “mistakenly mailed 3,126 early ballots the previous day,” six days before they were scheduled to be sent to voters for this year's midterm elections.
asserted
they → run → elections
Runbeck said the ballots were “processed separately from the primary mailing” because they did not qualify for automated mail processing from the U.S. Postal Service.
asserted
they → say → Service
The pallet containing the ballots was “included with mail released that evening,” which resulted in them reaching the Postal Service six days early, the company said.
asserted
company → contain → Service
The ballots were mailed to the correct voters, are still valid and can be completed and returned normally by those voters, the recorder’s office said in a statement.
asserted
office → mail → statement
Judy Keane, a spokesperson for the recorder's office, did not offer a response to the president’s comments and referred to statements issued by her office and Runbeck.
asserted
Keane → offer → office
Jeff Ellington, president and CEO of Runbeck Election Services, said Monday that Maricopa County was not at fault in the snafu.
asserted
County → say → snafu
“It was pure accident, just a human error,” Ellington said in an interview.
asserted
Ellington → say → interview
“We regret it.
asserted
We → regret → it
Maricopa County, which is crucial for deciding statewide races in Arizona, has been a regular target of election conspiracy theories.
asserted
which → decide → theories
Trump has frequently focused false claims of a stolen election in 2020 on the county.
uncertain
Trump → focus → county
Heap and the Republican-controlled county of board of supervisors had been entangled for months in a prolonged legal battle over how to jointly run elections.
asserted
Heap → control → elections
Heap and the board eventually reached a settlement in July.
asserted
Heap → reach → July
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