The Arizona Court of Appeals did something important this month: it told local governments to stop treating citizens like threats just for asking questions. In a clear ruling, the court said Santa Cruz County had no right to sue a nonprofit group for simply requesting public election records.

That might sound obvious — because it is. But in recent years, some local officials have acted like public records are theirs to guard, not ours to see. That mindset is dangerous, and it deserves to be called out, not excused.

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