Here’s what you need to know about voting process for Tuesday’s primary election in Arizona

PHOENIX – Four weeks after early voting began, Arizonans will complete the process of choosing nominees from each party during Tuesday’s midterm primary elections.

Early voting started July 6, which was the day after the deadline to register and be eligible to vote in the primary.

Elections in Arizona are run by county elections departments based on statewide regulations. Details specific to each county, such as voting locations, can be found through local election departments. Contact information for each county is available through the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.

Here’s what you need to know about Election Day in Maricopa County, home to more than 60% of the state’s population.

Where and when can I vote?

Maricopa County is operating more than 100 vote centers from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and more than 200 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. There are no precincts, meaning registered voters can cast their ballot at any vote center. You can search for a convenient vote center or official drop box location at Locations.Maricopa.Vote.

How can I vote?

It’s too late to put an early ballot in the mail. But if you have one and don’t want to fill out a ballot in-person on Election Day, you can drop off a completed early ballot in its signed and sealed green envelope at any vote center or official drop box by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

If you prefer to vote in person, you can do so at any vote center during Monday-Tuesday hours. Poll workers will confirm eligibility and print out a ballot for you to fill out that contains the races attached to your address.

You don’t have to be registered as a Democrat or Republican to participate in the primary. Independents can select from either party when they have their ballot printed out.

Do I need to show identification?

No ID is needed to drop off a completed early ballot, as is the case will all mail and early voting. But in-person voters need to show documentation that fulfills one of the following requirements:

1. ONE unexpired photo ID with name and and address matching elections records from this list:

• Arizona driver license.
• Arizona nonoperating identification license.
• Tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification.
• Federal, state or local government-issued identification.

2. TWO items from the following list of nonphoto documentation:

• Utility bill dated within 90 days of the election.
• Bank or credit union statement dated within 90 days of the election.
• Valid Arizona vehicle registration.
• Indian census card.
• Property tax statement.
• Tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification.
• Vehicle insurance card.
• Federal, state or local government-issued identification.
• Voter registration card/recorder’s certification.
• Any “official election material” mailing that has your name and address.

3. ONE of the following combinations:

• A valid picture ID from List 1 above with an address that doesn’t match registration records AND one document from List 2 with an address that matches registration records.
• U.S. passport AND one item from List 2.
• U.S. military ID card AND one item from List 2.

In-person voters without proper identification will be given a provisional ballot and in some cases may have to follow up with sufficient ID before the vote will be tabulated. More information about provisional ballots, including how to check the status if you have to cast one, is available on the county elections website.

When will I know who won?

It depends how close the race is. Many contests will be clinched based on the first batch of returns, but others could linger for days until enough votes are tabulated to determine a winner.

Media outlets make calls based on what’s been reported and how their analysts think the remaining votes will break. While almost always accurate, there is nothing official about a media outlet’s call. Primary winners will face off in the November general election.

A majority of Arizona voters use early voting, so a lot of the ballots will already be counted by the time the polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Maricopa County Stephen Richer explained the tabulation and reporting process in a Twitter thread last week.

He said the county’s first results will be posted an hour after polls close. That batch will probably include all ballots received by Monday and be about 70% of the vote.

🧵Releasing Results

PART ONE:
8:00 PM on Tuesday, Election Night (Aug. 2), we will release the results of everything we have tabulated to that point. This will likely include all ballots we've received by Monday, Aug. 1.

This will likely be 70%+ of the vote

cont.

— Stephen Richer—Maricopa Cnty Recorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) July 28, 2022

Once the polls are closed, memory cards will be removed from vote center tabulators and taken to the county election department to be loaded into the main server. Those results will be released until late Tuesday night as they are compiled.

Processing of early ballots dropped off on Election Day will start Wednesday. They will be counted and posted after the signatures are verified.

Voters have five days from Election Day to “cure” early ballots when trained election workers determine that a signature on the envelope doesn’t match what they have on file. Signature verification is conducted by teams with members from both parties.

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