Arizona early voting begins, mail ballots sent out for 2022 general election

PHOENIX – Arizona’s 2022 general election officially started on Wednesday.

It was the first day polling places could open for in-person early voting in the Nov. 8 midterms, while county recorders started sending out mail ballots to members of the Active Early Voting List and other voters who made one-time requests.

“One thing that’s important to note is that all of these voters have requested to receive an early ballot by mail,” Maricopa County Elections Director Scott Jarrett said during a media briefing last week.

About 1.9 million early ballots are on their way to Maricopa County voters’ homes. Phoenix-area voters can sign up through the county elections website to receive ballot status updates via text message and email.

And it begins! Today is the first day of early voting and Phil the Ballot could not be more excited! More than 1.9 million ballots are in the mail and on their way to voters that requested them. Track your ballot by texting ‘Join’ to 628-683 or by visiting https://t.co/DnWJeE3O1u pic.twitter.com/Hq1aJ2HjG0

— Maricopa County Elections Department (@MaricopaVote) October 12, 2022

The statewide early voting period runs until Nov. 4, although some counties, including Maricopa, have emergency voting options on the Saturday and Monday before Election Day.

Vote centers are scheduled to open across the Valley in waves, with the first 12 starting Wednesday. The centers also have drop boxes to collect completed mail ballots.

“We’ll be offering a vote center model,” Jarrett said. “What that means is that voters can choose from any one of our voting locations, not assigned an individual precinct, and we’ll be using a phased opening.”

By Election Day, Maricopa County will have more than 220 polling places in operation. The complete location list and schedule, along with wait times, can be found at the county elections website.

There are also 19 ballot drop boxes now available across metro Phoenix, with 17 inside municipal buildings and only accessible during business hours.

There are 24-hour outdoor drop boxes at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix (510 S. Third Ave.) and Maricopa County Juvenile Court in Mesa (1810 S. Lewis).

The Maricopa County elections website has live video feeds of the outdoor drop boxes and from locations inside the elections department.

For anybody who hasn’t registered, it’s too late. Tuesday was the deadline for Arizonans to register and be eligible to vote in next month’s general election.

Maricopa County residents can check their registration status at BeBallotReady.vote.

Registered voters who aren’t already signed up to receive an early ballot can request one until Oct. 28.

Nov. 1 is the recommended deadline to mail back early ballots, which must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day to count.

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