Seb Matta, a 19-year-old student at ASU, became one of the youngest people to obtain a partisan nomination for office in Arizona.
Matta is a sophomore studying philosophy and is running for Clerk of the Superior Court in Maricopa County for the Arizona Democratic Party against former state senator Jeff Dial.
The clerk of the Superior Court is a four-year partisan elected position that is responsible for keeping records and finances for the Superior Court of Arizona. The clerk also acts as the administrator of the budget for the Maricopa County Court.
"I've driven over 20,000 miles since January in my car. I'm on six oil changes, and I've raised money from hundreds of individual donors from over nine different states," Matta said. "So what that tells you is that I'm actually running a grassroots campaign."
Matta said he invites people who may be wary of his experience and age to look into the dedication he's put into his campaign.
On March 29, 2026, Joseph W. Malka stepped down from the county clerk position, and it is now being filled by the current chief deputy of the clerk of the Superior Court, Nancy Rodriguez, according to a press release from Maricopa County.
"It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the people of Maricopa County as Clerk of the Superior Court," said Malka in the press release. "I am incredibly proud of the dedicated professionals who make up this office and the meaningful progress we have achieved together."
Thomas Carroll, Matta's campaign manager, said he met Matta when he was just gathering signatures as an 18-year-old student. Carroll was impressed by his work ethic and wanted to start helping him immediately.
Carroll said if Matta had not chosen to run, there would not have been a democratic candidate for the position. The Arizona Democratic Party did not run a candidate in the 2022 election. Matta said this gap inspired him to run.
"We're very proud that he's going to be our guy on the ballot come November," Carroll said.
Matta said he was a debater throughout high school and that being surrounded by a group of people who were passionate about politics and debate helped him realize he wanted to run for office at some point in his life.
His father is also an investigator for a law firm, and Matta would visit the clerk of the Superior Court office often as a child.
Blake Welch, a freshman studying psychology and one of Matta's close friends, said this position would be good for Matta, especially to shed light on the responsibilities of the clerk's office for young individuals to understand.
"It's kind of an underground position; not a lot of young individuals know about it; it's not that mainstream," Welch said.
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On his campaign website, he outlined three main campaign goals: language accessibility, awareness of the clerk's office and expansion of the online filing system for probate cases.
"I saw issues that I could fix; I really took the chance on myself," Matta said.
Matta said the office translated the website into multiple languages only recently.
"They took some inspiration about that from a certain young man because I can see them looking at my LinkedIn every day," Matta said.
He hopes to include more translations of the self-help guides offered, and for there to be more interpreters available to reach more Arizona residents from different cultures who speak different languages.
If he wins the election, Matta said he will continue his education at the University and will most likely take a semester off, then resume classes online to complete his degree in philosophy.
"I'm not overpromising," Matta said. "I am promising to deliver realistic results if I am to be elected."
Edited by Andi Ruiz, Alan Deutschendorf III and Sophia Keeling.
Reach the reporter at isiedare@asu.edu.
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