County Recorder Says Almost 14,000 Early Ballots Have Yet to Be Turned in
FLORENCE- Residents who received an early ballot by mail should think about voting and sending it back in soon said Pinal County Recorder Laura Dean-Lytle.
"We have less than three weeks to go before the September 2nd primary and there have been a little over 4,000 ballots turned back in," Dean-Lytle said. "Filling out the ballot and dropping it in the mail is the easiest way to go. But voters can also bring their completed ballot to an early voting site. We want to make sure their vote is counted."
Dean-Lytle added that residents can also turn their early ballots in on election day at any polling place in Pinal County. If someone who has received an early ballot goes to the polls to vote, they will have to vote a provisional ballot while the records are checked to ensure both ballots are not voted.
Any ballots received by the county after September 2nd will not be counted.
The County Recorder said that for the residents' convenience, satellite early voting locations have been established in several areas throughout Pinal County.
Monday-Friday Voting Sites (Sites are open from 8:00 to 5:00):
- Florence – County Recorder's Office, Building E at the County Complex on Butte Avenue
- Apache Junction – 575 N. Idaho Road, Suite 110 at the Roy Hudson County Complex
- Casa Grande – County Recorder's Satellite Office at 820 E. Cottonwood Lane
Regional Early Voting Sites (All regional sites are open from 9:00 to 4:00):
- Maricopa – 44625 W. Garvey Avenue; open Thursdays August 7, 14, & 21
- San Tan – 968 W. Hunt Highway (next to Johnson Utilities); open Tuesdays August 12 & 19
- Saddlebrooke – 63701 E. Saddlebrooke Boulevard, Suite C; open Wednesdays August 13 & 20
- Gila River Indian Community – TBA
Special Saturday Early Voting Sites (Weekend voting sites open 9:00 to 4:00)
- Maricopa – 44625 W. Garvey Avenue; August 9
- Saddlebrooke – 63701 E. Saddlebrooke Boulevard, Suite C; August 9
- Kearny – 355 Alden Road; August 16
- Arizona City – 13970 S. Sunland Gin Road; August 16
- San Tan – 968 W. Hunt Highway (next to Johnson Utilities); August 16
- Florence – County Recorder's Office, Building E at the County Complex; August 23
- Apache Junction – 575 N. Idaho Road, Suite 110 at the Roy Hudson County Complex; August 23
- Casa Grande – County Recorder's Satellite Office; 820 E. Cottonwood Lane; August 23
For more information please call the Pinal County Citizen Contact Center at 520-509-3555 or 888-431-1311. Information can also be found on the web at http://pinalcountyaz.gov.
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Who can vote on September 2nd?
- Any voter registered on or before August 4, 2008 can vote in this year's primary election.
- Arizona has what is termed an "Open Primary." According to Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer's guide for candidates and political committees:
"Arizona's Open Primary Law allows voters registered as independent, no party preference or members of a party without ballot recognition to vote in the partisan Primary Election of their choice of one of the recognized political parties [Ariz. Const. Art. VII, § 10]. Voters who are registered with a recognized political party will receive their political party's early ballot." (page 10, section D) - This means if you are registered as a voter for one of the four recognized political parties – Democrat, Green, Libertarian or Republican – you will get the primary ballot for races featuring that party's candidates for office. If you are registered as an Independent or another party, you may request any of the ballots. The only exception is that the Libertarian Party ballot is for that party only. A 2007 federal court decision ruled that only registered members of the Libertarian Party may vote in that party's primary contest.
- There are currently 133,547 registered voters in Pinal County. There are 48,232 Democrats, 45,941 Republicans, 9,107 Independents, 657 Libertarians, 108 Greens and 29,355 who did not designate a political party. A further breakdown of voting statistics can be found on the voter registration page on Pinal County's website.
