Delayed voter IDs won’t impact Arizona CD8 election, officials say
Apr 24, 2018, 8:44 AM
(AP File Photo)
(AP File Photo)
PHOENIX — A printing delay prevented about 8,000 residents in Arizona Congressional District 8 from receiving their voter registration IDs in time for Tuesday’s special election, but they can still cast a ballot, election officials said.
In-person voting was underway in the U.S. House race to replace Republican Trent Franks, who resigned in December. Former state Sen. Debbie Lesko, a Republican, faced Democrat Dr. Hiral Tipirneni, a newcomer to politics.
Would-be voters can cast their ballots at polls using other forms of identification, Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan said. The Maricopa County Recorder’s website was accepting applications for digital voter ID cards.
“It’s not that big of an impact on voters because we have redundancies in our system,” County Recorder Adrian Fontes told news website ThinkProgress on Monday.
“Every voter already got either a ballot in the mail or they got a sample ballot in the mail,” he said.
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Officials will count early ballots at 2:30 p.m. at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center.
Forms of ID required by law included photo ID; for nonphoto ID, two forms were required, including a utility bill dated within 90 days of the election, a bank or credit union statement, a valid Arizona vehicle registration (all had to have current name and addresses) or a federal, state or local government-issued ID.
A third list allowed a combination from the first two lists.
The district, historically, has been heavily Republican. Some polls showed Lesko led anywhere from six to 10 points or in a dead heat over the past two weeks.
The Arizona Republic had reported countywide about 140,000 residents hadn’t gotten their voter registration cards yet.
Polling sites opened at 6 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jim Cross contributed to this report.
