“Hi, I’m Rachel from card member services.”

Some Valley residents may have received phone calls over the weekend that contained the incorrect information about polling places for Election Day.

How to stop political robo calls: Vote for the opponent. My home has been invaded by an avalanche of automated calls asking for my vote for a variety of political candidates. I am on the national “Do Not Call” list (unbelievably, political calls are exempt from this law), pay for an unlisted phone number, and only use this phone for family emergencies (so I cannot shut it off).

“Now that the election is over, can I have my phone back? I want to robo-call some politicians to respond to their robo-calls over the past three months.”

PHOENIX — Candidates in Arizona's close U.S. Senate race put the finishing touches on their campaigns Monday as GOP congressman Jeff Flake crisscrossed the state and as former surgeon general Richard Carmona ramped up get-out-the-vote efforts in his attempt to become the state's first Hispanic U.S. senator.

Those unwanted text messages for everything from special sales to dating services could soon be a thing of the past.

The way state lawmakers figure it, it's annoying enough to get an unwanted text message.

On the day after, we can all rest.

“Hi, I’m Rachel from card member services.”

“Tired of the war between Flake and Cardon. They’re both RINOs anyway. I will not vote for either of them.”

And now, we all can rest.

The Gilbert political scene is in a post-election lull since the March 10 primary. Residents are mulling the ramifications of the defeat of longtime Mayor Steve Berman, and candidates in the May 19 runoff are gathering strength and funding for the battle.

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard is campaigning for Scottsdale Mayor Mary Manross through a recorded phone message while his office investigates whether a mailer featuring Manross violated campaign finance laws.

WASHINGTON -- Casting its first votes on revamping the nation's health care system, the Senate rejected a Republican bid Thursday to stave off Medicare cuts and approved safeguards for coverage of mammograms and other preventive tests for women. The first round of votes ended with a fragile Democratic coalition hanging together.

It was a far-fetched scenario to be thinking that Scottsdale voters, on Nov. 4, would be electing their new mayor. With only Mayor Mary Manross and Councilman Jim Lane on the Sept. 2 ballot, most observers believed that one was sure to receive more than 50 percent of the vote and secure a seat as the city's mayor.

Gov. Jan Brewer took $250,000 for her political action committee from a Las Vegas hotel owner and billionaire a day after she would have had to report it in time for voters last month to know about it.

Arizona's Legislature is back in session. Before the first week had even finished, hundreds of bills had been "dropped" into the hopper, several which I find telling of the political atmosphere here in Arizona. Unfortunately, several of these bills reflect how our current Legislature has lost touch with reason and demonstrate a sense of political entitlement that has and will continue to harm our state. Clearly, they have learned absolutely nothing from the message Arizona voters sent in the 2011 elections.

Arizona's legislature is back in session. Before the first week had even finished, hundreds of bills had been "dropped" into the hopper, several which I find telling of the political atmosphere here in Arizona. Unfortunately, several of these bills reflect how our current legislature has lost touch with reason and demonstrate a sense of political entitlement that has and will continue to harm our state. Clearly, they have learned absolutely nothing from the message Arizona voters sent in the 2011 elections.

WASHINGTON — On the surface, a judge's decision to block tough provisions of Arizona's immigration law was a defeat for the state's Republican governor and a win for the Democratic Obama administration. But neither party is sure it will play out that way politically, either this fall or beyond.

We’re a week out from our Town Council and mayoral election, so I’d like to pass along this handy voting guide for you. Here’s a thumbnail sketch of each candidate. Take it with you into the voting booth if you’d like.

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FLORENCE -- Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu built a reputation as a rising, conservative star by taking a hardline stance against illegal immigration, attacking the Obama administration and appearing alongside Sen. John McCain in a 2010 re-election ad in which McCain urged federal officials to just "complete the danged fence."