(The Center Square) – Despite rules imposed by Arizona’s Election Procedures Manual, Pinal County voters must be sure to vote at the correct precinct polling place or their ballots will be thrown out.
In December 2023, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes added a provision in the EPM prohibiting counties from disqualifying ballots due to them being filed at the wrong precinct, requiring that counties who assign voters to a specific polling place allow voters to cast a ballot even if they show up at the wrong location. Prior to this year, counties that use designated polling locations would throw out ballots that were filed at the wrong precinct.
However, Pinal County has said, “no.” Despite this rule being created in December 2023, Pinal County has maintained their precinct assigned voting throughout both the presidential preference and primary elections.
Should a voter attempt to vote in a precinct where they’re not registered, a poll worker can notify them. The voter can cast a provisional ballot, but it’s likely to be discarded if it’s not found to have been a mistake.
In September, Fontes filed a complaint to the Pinal County Superior Court, asking the court to order Pinal County Recorder Dana Lewis and the county supervisors to comply with the EPM. The lawsuit further asked for the accessible voting devices in Pinal County to be equipped with the correct ballot style for every precinct in the county so that voters who arrive at the wrong precinct can use the machines to fill out the correct ballot.
The respondents claimed that not only did the lawsuit come too close to election day for them to change their procedures, but the requirement outlined in the EPM contradict with Arizona statute that gives counties the power to decide if they will use precinct-based voting or general voting centers that allow voters to file their ballots anywhere in the county.
Pinal County is one of the only counties in the state that still uses precinct voting centers and is the only county that has refused to comply with the new guidelines.
The superior court released a mixed ruling, emulating frustration with both parties for the lateness of the litigation.
“As a preliminary matter, the Court FINDS, first, and most importantly, that both sides of this dispute share responsibility for this last-minute controversy,” reads the Oct. 4 ruling. “As this ruling will detail, both the State of Arizona and Pinal County had a legal obligation to address these issues long before this case was filed, and their failure to do so now threatens to create confusion in the upcoming general election, immediately before Early Voting begins, no matter whether the Court grants or denies the relief requested by the Secretary of State.”
However, the court ruled that Pinal County not be forced to comply with this regulation as “there is unacceptable risk to undertake this change at this very late date.” This is because Lewis said that it would create logistical complications and confusion among election workers.
Fontes appealed the decision, but the Supreme Court upheld the trial court’s decision last week. However, both rulings did note that Pinal County’s claims that they should not have to abide by the new EPM rule due to the conflict with ARS was unfounded.
Pinal County voters can find their designated voting location on the Pinal County website.
