Arizona primary voting guide: How and where to vote in Maricopa County

Arizona’s primary election season is well underway. Voters must either head to the polls or turn in their ballots by July 21 to have a say in setting up the general election contests in several key races. 

Depending on their registration, Maricopa County voters will vote in either the Republican, Democratic or No Labels primary for congressional and statewide races, including for governor, attorney general and secretary of state, as well as plenty of legislative and local races. Independent voters can choose which party’s primary they’d like to vote in.

Here’s what you should know about how, where and when to vote.

It’s too late to mail it back — July 14 was the cutoff for that — but you can still return your ballot at any of the 12 official drop boxes across the county. You can also take it to any of the nearly 40 early voting locations Valley-wide and drop it off there. Voters can access those locations on the county’s website. 

If that’s done prior to Election Day, voters — with their early ballot in a sealed green affidavit envelope — may check in at a vote center and provide proof of identity. That will mean your ballot won’t have to go through signature identification. If you bring your early ballot to a vote center on Election Day, you can check in, show ID and have your ballot tabulated onsite.

If you’re not a mail voter, you can vote early in person at any of those 40 voting locations. On Election Day, there will be nearly 250 voting locations across the county where voters can fill out their ballots. 

Arizona law requires voters to state their name and place of residence to a poll worker and then present valid ID. That valid ID needs to include your name, photo and the address where you are registered to vote. An unexpired Arizona driver’s license, non-operating identification license, Tribal enrollment card or a valid federal, state or local government-issued ID meets the identification criteria. 

If you don’t have identification that fits those criteria, you still have options. 

If an ID doesn’t match a voter’s record, poll workers will need two forms of ID from you. That can include a utility bill or bank statement dated within 90 days of the election, a valid Arizona Vehicle Registration, Indian census card, property tax statement for your residence, vehicle insurance card, voter registration card or any “official election material” that bears the voter’s name and address.

Voters can also mix and match IDs from the first two lists. Voters can provide any valid picture ID with an address that doesn’t match the precinct register, or a non-photo ID from the second list with the correct address. A passport or a U.S. military passport, along with an item from the second list, can also be provided. 

If the address on your ID doesn’t match the address on the voting station’s signature roster, you’ll be provided with a provisional ballot. However, your ballot won’t be counted until it’s deemed valid. Voters must provide the Maricopa County Recorder with a sufficient ID within five calendar days after the primary election for a federal office, or within three calendar days after any other election.

This includes handing out campaign literature, talking to voters or poll workers about candidates or issues or otherwise “attempting to influence an election,” according to the Maricopa County Elections website. There are also several locations where electioneering is prohibited entirely, even outside of the 75-foot limit. You can see a list of those sites here. 

From there, voters can set up status alerts, which allow the county to text or email you updates regarding your ballot. Voters can also check their voter registration status and voter registration card through the dashboard.

Once your ballot is signature-verified and counted, it will be shown in the voter dashboard. If Maricopa County is unable to verify your ballot’s signature, the election team will reach out to you by mail, phone or an automated ballot status notification via text or email. From there, voters can either verify their signature on BeBallotReady.vote through a specified link or vote by phone using personally identifiable information.