Ballot Math / School districts / Buckeye Union
School board race: Buckeye Union High School District

Buckeye Union: two seats, three candidates, and not one name on the printed ballot

November 3, 2026 general election. In Buckeye Union High School District, all three candidates for the two open board seats filed as write-ins. Your ballot will show blank write-in lines for this race. Only votes for certified write-in candidates count, so the three names below are the entire field. Board service is unpaid.
How this race works: two of the board's five seats are up, both for four-year terms. Write in the names of up to two of the three certified candidates and fill in the ovals next to what you write. A write-in for anyone else is not counted for these seats.

Nathan Madden (incumbent, write-in)

The incumbent in the race, running as a write-in. In his first year on the board he says he pushed for public access to board meeting recordings and lower fees for public records. As an Arizona School Boards Association delegate he says he worked on removing anti-school choice language from the association's political agenda.
  • Stated priorities: transparency, efficiency, and a district that stays responsive to the community.

Richard Hopkins (write-in)

A retired insurance agent who previously served 18 years on the neighboring Buckeye Elementary School District governing board. He describes himself as a longtime champion for students, employees, and taxpayers.
  • Stated priorities: improving graduation rates, student proficiency, and the district's financial stability.

Heather Barron-Galvan (write-in)

A school psychologist for more than 20 years, including 15 years on a Native American reservation. She holds a master's in school counseling and an education specialist degree from the University of South Dakota. She joined Buckeye Elementary as a lead psychologist when she moved to Arizona, got involved with Buckeye Union when her daughter began attending, and serves on the Buckeye Union Education Foundation board. (The county list renders her surname as "Barron"; the Republic uses "Barron-Galvan.")
  • Stated priorities: advocating for the success of all students, drawing on her professional background in student mental health and academic development combined with a parent's perspective.

Verification notes

  • School board campaigns file finance reports with Maricopa County. No raised or spent totals for these campaigns appeared in the coverage we reviewed; we print no totals rather than guess.
  • Write-in races draw very low information and very low turnout. The practical consequence: a small number of voters who write in names will choose two of this district's five board members.
  • Buckeye Union has no bond or override question on the November 2026 ballot in the county sources we checked.

How to vote without getting your ballot rejected

  • Mail it by Tuesday, October 27, 2026. After that day, do not mail it: use a drop box or a vote center instead.
  • It must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3. Postmarks do not count.
  • Sign and date the affidavit envelope, and write a current phone number on it.
  • Write each name clearly and fill in the oval beside it. Only certified write-in candidates can receive countable votes.

Sources

Ballot Math: analysis only, no endorsements. Every candidate in this race got the same template: background, stated priorities, the record that exists, and honest notes where the record is thin.