Voting by Mail: How to Get a Ballot-by-Mail

A Primary Election serves to select each recognized political parties' nominees, who will then go on to the General Election ballot with all other party’s nominees. Arizona has an Open Primary, which allows voters registered without a political party (commonly referred to as "independents”) to choose which primary they want to participate in. To receive a ballot-by-mail for a Primary Election, Independent Voters must notify their County Recorder’s Office which political party’s Primary Election ballot they wish to receive.

For the August 4, 2020 Primary Election: Independent voters may request to receive a Republican, Democratic, or Nonpartisan/Municipal Only ballot. The Nonpartisan/Municipal Only ballot is only available in cities or towns with nonpartisan municipal races in August and will only contain those city/town races. (Nonpartisan municipal races are also included on partisan party ballots.)

Voters may indicate their ballot selection in one of four ways:

• By Mail: Independent voters on the PEVL will receive a notice in the mail from their County Recorder. Return that notice with your choice of ballot selected.
• By Phone: Call your County Recorder’s office to indicate your ballot selection for the Primary Election.
• Online: Use My.Arizona.Vote and select the Request a Ballot by Mail button. Follow the steps to the end to complete the request.
• In-Person: Visit an early voting or Election Day voting location, select your choice of ballot, and vote in-person.

Independent voters on the PEVL will not receive a ballot in the mail for a primary election unless they contact their County Recorder and specify their ballot selection.

Your ballot-by-mail must be received by county election officials by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. If you are going to mail back your ballot-by-mail for the General Election, we recommend you do so by October 27, 2020. For the August 4, 2020 Primary Election, we recommend putting your ballot in the mail by July 29, 2020. Otherwise, you should take your ballot to any ballot drop-off location or voting location in your county by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.

You have two options for returning your ballot-by-mail:

• Mail back your ballot: Use the pre-paid envelope included in your ballot-by-mail package. For the November General Election, we recommend mailing it by October 27,2020 (7 days) before Election Day to ensure it reaches your county election officials on time.
• Drop off your ballot: You may drop off your ballot at any ballot drop-box, drop-off location, early voting location, or Election Day voting location in your county on or before Election Day. Find all voting and drop off locations on your county’s website. Ballots must be received by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.

You may track the status of your ballot at My.Arizona.Vote to confirm that it was received and counted.

Voters in Maricopa County can receive automatic updates on their ballot status via text. Text the word "JOIN" to 628-683 or visit TextSignUp.Maricopa.Vote to subscribe.

If you have lost or damaged your ballot-by-mail, you may request a replacement ballot via mail or in-person.

To request a replacement ballot by mail, contact your County Recorder’s Office directly. Requests for the Primary Election must be made by Friday, July 24, 2020 and requests for the General Election must be made by Friday, October 23, 2020.

You may also visit a voting location on or before Election Day to vote in-person. Visit My.Arizona.Vote to find your correct voting location.

Official Election Mail cannot be forwarded automatically by the postal service. If you will be out of town during the election, you may request to have your ballot sent to your temporary address. Contact your County Recorder directly to make this request. Find your County Recorder’s contact information here.

Each county has different in-person early voting options starting 27-days before Election Day up through 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day. Visit your County Recorder’s website or contact your County Recorder directly to learn more about in-person early voting options in your county: https://azsos.gov/county-election-info.

Voters are now required to present sufficient identification to vote early in-person. For more information on voter ID, visit: https://azsos.gov/elections/voting-election.

Contact your County Recorder or Elections Department to learn more about emergency voting options available in your county: https://azsos.gov/county-election-info.

The County Board of Supervisors may authorize Emergency Voting Centers for in-person voting between 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before the election and 5:00 p.m. on the Monday before the election. For the purposes of emergency voting, “emergency” means any unforeseen circumstance that would prevent the voter from voting at the polls on Election Day.

In order to vote at an emergency voting center:

• Voters will be required to present sufficient identification. For more information on voter ID, visit: https://azsos.gov/elections/voting-election.
• Voters must also sign a statement under penalty of perjury starting that the voter is experiencing or have experienced an emergency after 5:00 p.m. on the Friday immediately preceding the election and before 5:00 p.m. on the Monday immediately preceding the election that will prevent them from voting at a polling place on Election Day.

Tamper Evident Envelopes and Ballot Tracking: In Arizona, counties utilize tamper evident envelopes for mailed ballots and voters can verify whether their ballot-by-mail has been sent to them and whether it has been received and accepted by the county after it has been mailed back.

Security of Ballot Drop-Off Locations and Drop-Boxes: Ballot drop-off locations and drop-boxes must comply with security requirements and procedures outlined in the Elections Procedures Manual.

Signature Verification: Every ballot-by-mail is authenticated through a rigorous signature verification process conduct by trained election officials. The voter is contacted if the signature on the ballot-by-mail affidavit is inconsistent with the signature in the voter’s registration record.

Criminal Penalties for Misconduct: Arizona law imposes severe criminal penalties for ballot tampering, vote buying, or discarding someone else’s ballot.

Overseas voters can request a ballot from their county through our online portal at My.Arizona.Vote. More information regarding options for voting and returning a ballot for overseas voters is available here: https://my.arizona.vote/UOCAVA2/default.aspx.

If you have more questions about voting by mail, you should contact your County Recorder (contact information available at this link: https://azsos.gov/county-election-info).

You can also contact the Election Services Division at the Secretary of State’s Office at [email protected] or 1-877-THE-VOTE.

Find your county’s contact information here: https://azsos.gov/county-election-info.

Have questi ons? Call 1-877-THE-VOTE or email [email protected].