Independents can choose ballot in Arizona primary

Candidates for election have filed their petitions, which means the election season is off and running. The Primary Election is Aug. 24. In the primary, voters will decide the nominees who will appear on the ballots in November’s election.
 
Pinal County Recorder Laura Dean-Lytle says that people are still asking questions about the Open Primary law enacted by the voters in 1998. The law allows people who are registered as an Independent to request a Democrat, Republican or Green Party ballot, including early voting ballots.
 
Voter registrations in Pinal County currently break down as follows:

Independent and No-Party Selected:  55,416
Democrat:  53,364
Republican:  53,456
Libertarian:  961
Green:  164
 
“If you are registered as a voter for one of the four recognized political parties – Democrat, Green, Libertarian or Republican – you will get the primary ballot for races featuring that party’s candidates for office,” Dean-Lytle said. “If you are registered as an Independent, have no political preference or another party, you may request any one of the recognized ballots. The only exception is that the Libertarian Party ballot is for that party only.”
 
A 2007 federal court decision ruled that only registered members of the Libertarian Party may vote in that party’s primary.
 
For the Independents and everyone who has not selected a major political party, you have to let the Recorder’s Office know what ballot you wish to vote in the primary, if you are voting early. If you vote at the polls on August 24th, you simply tell the poll worker what ballot you want.
 
“Our voter registration staff is already receiving calls,” Dean-Lytle said. “People are asking questions about registering to vote and the dates for early balloting.”

The Pinal County Recorder’s Office has ordered 40,000 early ballots for voters. If you have an early ballot request already on file, your ballot will be mailed out on July 29. The ballots will be mailed to registered voters based on party registration or preference if indicated by the Independent or Green Party voters. The deadline to request an early ballot by mail is August 13.
 
Beginning July 29, any Pinal County registered voter can also vote early at any of the Recorder’s Offices:  575 North Idaho Road, Suite 800 in Apache Junction, 820 East Cottonwood Lane in Casa Grande and at 31 North Pinal Street in Florence.
 
For more information on voter registration or early voting, please call the Pinal County Citizen Contact Center at 520-509-3555 or 888-431-1131.
 
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