19-Year-Old Democrat Defeats Republican In County At Center Of Election Integrity Debate

A 19-year-old Democrat was swept into office during Tuesday’s blue tsunami to become Clerk of the Superior Court for Maricopa County, Arizona — which received national attention during the 2020 election.

Sebastian “Seb” Matta, a student at Arizona State University, won the office for Superior Court clerk for the nation’s fourth-largest county with 53.3 percent of the vote beating former Republican State Sen. Jeff Dial by a near seven-point margin, according to results posted by the county.

Maricopa County made headlines during the 2020 presidential election after reports of widespread tabulator or printer issues affected voting centers, bringing questions about the integrity of the voting process.

The teen-elect became interested in the clerk’s office “at an early age,” when he visited it with his father as a toddler, his campaign bio states.

“Seb has been through public schools all his life, starting in kindergarten at Kenilworth Elementary. In second grade Seb started his second grade at Lookout Mountain Elementary in North Phoenix, followed by Mountain Sky Jr. High, and finally finishing off at Thunderbird High School,” Matta’s campaign website says.

Matta also lists involvement in extracurriculars, sports, speech and debate competitions and acting in four theater productions as part of his prior experience on the campaign site.

The former school actor defeated Dial, who served in both Houses of Arizona’s legislature over a seven-year period from 2010 to 2017.

Matta’s campaign office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

A memo obtained by the DCNF in 2022 alleged that 72 of the populous Arizona county’s 115 voting centers, or roughly 60%, experienced “material problems with the tabulators not being able to tabulate ballots,” resulting in “substantial voter suppression,” according to the memo submitted by a roving attorney for the Republican National Committee.