TUCSON, Ariz. – Voters aren’t as likely to show up to the polls on election days as they were in recent years.
“Vote by mail in Pima County and throughout the state remains very popular,” stated Gabriella Cazares-Kelly, the Pima County Recorder. Voting by mail is an option for over 80% of Arizonans.
According to the Pima County Recorder’s office, there will be an additional incentive to submit your ballots before the deadline since the general election will include two card ballots.
Cazares-Kelly warned that voters would need to carefully consider their ballots. “It’s really helpful for voters to request that ballot by mail and spend that time making those decisions about who they want to choose or which propositions they want to support,” explained the voter. “They can do it on their phones, computers, or even with friends and family.”
During the primary season, which ended a little over a month ago, election officials nationwide expressed concern that mailed votes still haven’t arrived at the office in time to be counted.
“We get two types – we get some that are post office-related and most of them are people mailing them after the election and that’s the bulk of them,” described David Stevens, the recorder of Cochise County. “Three to five days after the election, seven days later, and post marked after that, we’ll see them.”
Although the Pima and Cochise County Recorders have denied that this is a common problem in their respective counties, election officials have written to the US Postal Service stating that, for the last year, correctly addressed election mail has been returned as undeliverable. This could cause voters to be marked as inactive.
Unlike other parts of the nation, Cazares-Kelly claimed that they are not experiencing delays in this area.
Each voter must do the bulk of the legwork to guarantee that their ballot is truly counted.
For Stevens, “it’s like putting a drop of water in the ocean” when it comes to their efforts to improve the process. “Since things happen and a lot of mail goes through everyday in Phoenix, it’s more efficient to just bring it in, drop it off at a drop box, or come straight to our office.”
In under a month, more than 470,000 ballots will be mailed out by Pima County.