After Republican Martha McSally led by a small margin since Tuesday, Democrat Ron Barber took the lead in the still undecided Congressional District 2 race.

On Monday, Pima County announced they have finished counting the provisional and early ballots from the Nov. 6 election. The Pima County Board of Supervisors has scheduled a special meeting Nov. 26 at 9 a.m. to certify the election results.

A proposed ballot measure to fund transportation projects probably won’t be on November ballots after supporters failed to get enough valid signatures.

Oct. 20, 2004 - Debbie Schmich views her role on the Marana Unified School District governing board as the bridge between parent organizations and district administration.

Late Sunday, Marilyn Zerull learned she may have won a Republican nomination for the Arizona House in District 26.

With the high number of provisional and mail-in ballots last week, the state had more than 600,000 votes to count after the Nov. 6 General Election. In Pima County, election crews spent the last week going through nearly 80,000 ballots.

There are two congressional races still up in the air in Southern Arizona, as no winner as been announced in Congressional District 1 and Congressional District 2.

Voters still await the final outcome of a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana in Arizona.

Nov. 17, 2004 - The dust surrounding the Marana Unified School District governing board refuses to settle, although - albeit unofficially - one of the six write-in candidates has won the race.

Early ballots in the Southern Arizona special election for Congressional District 8 will be sent out this week, with the General Election date just under a month away.

Results from the Sept. 2 primary election are in, and have been counted. There are interesting races ahead Nov. 4, for the Arizona Legislature, Congress and the presidency. Arizona voters face important decisions with regard to ballot initiatives. Oro Valley residents must decide the fate of bonds for the Naranja Town Site park.

By a fraction – unofficially, 26 votes, far less than 1 percent of the 19,520 ballots cast – voters in Amphitheater School District have agreed to extend a property tax that generates funds beyond what the state of Arizona provides for operations and maintenance of district schools.

For those concerned with the proposed annexation and subsequent development of an expanse of Arizona State Trust Land north of Oro Valley, a new campaign offers a ray of hope.

June - Councilwoman Paula Abbott finished ahead of Don Cox by four votes after a recount May 31 that decided the winner of the third of three seats on the Oro Valley Town Council, putting an end to one of the closest elections in the town's history.

May 17, 2006 - In one of the tightest elections in Oro Valley history, the town's voters May 16 apparently re-elected Kenneth "KC" Carter and elected Don Cox and Al Kunisch to fill the three open seats on the council. Carter had the most votes with Kunisch second and Cox third.

Despite a plea for an earlier election date, a Pinal County Superior Court judge ruled March 12 that Sept. 7 is the day set for voters to decide whether to unite the Mammoth-San Manuel and Oracle school districts.

Both incumbents on the Oro Valley Town Council have been defeated in their bids for re-election.

March 16, 2005 - Only 5 percent of Marana's 12,164 registered voters came out for the March 8 primary election in which four council members - Patti Comerford, Tim Escobedo, Vice Mayor Herb Kai and Carol McGorray - retained their seats in an uncontested election.

I was disappointed in Pima County District Attorney Barbara LaWall’s lack of interest in righting a more than 40-year wrong recently.

It’s the 11th hour in what seems like an endless presidential campaign. Many of us made our choices long ago. (For me, it’s Obama by a wide margin.) Some have already sent off their mail-in ballots or voted at early voting sites, so for them, it’s all over but the counting.

The following letters appeared in the May 28, 2008, issue of The Explorer.

There were no startling revelations, no major gaffes, no sharp distinctions drawn among candidates at Saturday's Oro Valley Town Council and mayoral candidate forum.

WWII bombers into Marana for tours April 23-26

On Oct 15, the Arizona Department of Education released it first school labels under the year-old Arizona LEARNS program. Every school in the state received one of the following markers: underperforming, maintaining performance, improving or excelling.

By a margin of 28 votes, people in the Amphitheater School District have passed Proposition 403, the maintenance and operations property tax override used by the district to maintain lower class sizes, offer expanded elementary school art, music and physical education classes, and bolster teacher compensation.