ARIZONA

Election Information

Upcoming Elections

2008 Primary Election: 9/2/08

2008 General Election: 11/4/08

Voter Registration Information

The Lawyers’ Committee and its pro bono law firm partners have compiled comprehensive third-party voter registration guides for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  These guides will help volunteers, organizers, and leaders navigate the complex rules that govern voter registration in each state. 

Registration Deadlines

29 days before an election

2008 Primary Election: 8/4/08

2008 General Election: 10/6/08

Where to Obtain Registration Forms

Absentee Voting

Absentee voting is allowed if the voter is:

  • A member of the Armed Forces or a spouse or dependent of a member of the Armed forces
  • A U.S. citizen living overseas who will be at least 18 years of age before the next General Election and whose last residence prior to going overseas was in AZ

Rules and Deadlines

  • Absentee ballots can be found with the county recorder and must be requested by mail by 7 pm on Election Day or by 29 days before an election if the voter is unregistered.
  • They must be returned to the county recorder’s office or the AZ Secretary of State’s office by mail or by fax.
  • Ballot must be must be received by 7 pm on Election Day.

Early Voting

Yes, for all registered voters beginning 33 days before the election and ending at 5 p.m. the Friday before the election.

ID Requirements

At registration, proof of citizenship in one of the following forms:

  • A legible photocopy of a birth certificate that verifies citizenship and supporting legal documentation (i.e. marriage certificate) if the name on the birth certificate is not the same as your current legal name
  • A legible photocopy of pertinent pages of a United States passport identifying the applicant
  • Presentation to the County Recorder of United States naturalization documents or the number of the certificate of naturalization in box 20 on the front of this form
  • The applicant’s Bureau of Indian Affairs Card Number, Tribal Treaty Card Number, or Tribal Enrollment Number in box 16 on the front of the voter registration form
  • A legible photocopy of a driver license or non-operating identification from another state within the United States if the license indicates that the applicant has provided satisfactory proof of citizenship
  • A legible photocopy of a Tribal Certificate of Indian Blood or Tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs Affidavit of Birth.

At polls:

One form of identification that bears the name, address, and photograph of the voter or two different forms of identification that bear the name and address of the voter.

The following is a list of acceptable forms of identification:

  • Acceptable forms of identification with photograph, name, and address of the elector:
    • Valid Arizona driver license
    • Valid Arizona non-operating identification license
    • Tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification
    • Valid United States federal, state, or local government issued identification
  • Acceptable forms of identification without a photograph that bear the name and address of the voter (two required):
    • Utility bill of the elector that is dated within ninety days of the date of the election. A utility bill may be for electric, gas, water, solid waste, sewer, telephone, cellular phone, or cable television
    • Bank or credit union statement that is dated within ninety days of the date of the election
    • Valid Arizona Vehicle Registration
    • Indian census card
    • Property tax statement of the elector’s residence
    • Tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification
    • Recorder’s Certificate
    • Valid United States federal, state, or local government issued identification, including a voter registration card issued by the county recorder

How to check registration

Contact your County Board of Elections

How to locate polling place

http://www.azsos.gov/election/polling_places.htm

Information for felons

Voter is eligible to register once civil rights have been restored.


For more information, go to the Secretary of State’s website.
Learn about Third Party Voter Registration in Arizona.

In The Courts

ITCA v. Brewer

Legislation

Proposition 200, The Arizona Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act.

Recent News

October 20, 2006: Today, the United States Supreme Court vacated the 9th Circuit’s decision, preventing enforcement of Arizona’s photo ID law. Voters are now again required to present proof of identification when registering and photo ID when voting on November 7.

Read the decision by Justice Kennedy here.

We are extremely disappointed by this decision. Nonetheless, we note that the Court vacated the stay based solely on procedural grounds. Indeed, the Court made clear on page 4 of the opinion that the district court must carefully consider the degree of disfranchisement caused by the law: "Although the likely effect effects of Proposition 200 are much debated, the possibility that qualified voters might be turned away from the polls would caution any district any district judge to give careful consideration to the plaintiffs’ challenges." We hope and expect to prevail when there is a final decision on the merits.

The Lawyers’ Committee, along with Osborn Maledon LLP, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, the ACLU, AARP, PFAWF, and Sparks, Tehan & Ryley PC, represent the set of plaintiffs who obtained the temporary relief from the 9th Circuit in the Arizona Proposition 200 case.

October 11, 2006: The 9th Circuit denied the motion to reconsider last week’s ruling in the Arizona photo ID lawsuit. Proposition 200 will not be enforced for the November elections.

Read the order here.

October 7, 2006: In the wake of the 9th Circuit’s injunction against the operation of Proposition 200, the Lawyers’ Committee sent a letter to Arizona’s county recorders asking them to register the 20,000 Arizona citizens who were unable to prove citizenship on their voter registration application.

Read our letter to county recorders here.

October 5, 2006: In a major victory for voters in Arizona, Proposition 200, Arizona’s law requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote and photo ID at the polls, was struck down today by the 9th Circuit. The order enjoins implementation of Proposition 200’s voting identification requirement in connection with Arizona’s November 7, 2006 general election; and enjoins Proposition 200’s registration proof of citizenship requirements so that voters can register before the October 9, 2006 registration deadline.

Read the order here.

"Proposition 200 is both unnecessary and discriminatory," said Barbara R. Arnwine, Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee. "Today the 9th Circuit honored our country’s democratic constitutional promise by removing an otherwise insurmountable roadblock to tens of thousands of eligible Arizona citizens." Passed in 2004, Proposition 200 dramatically altered Arizona election law by (1) requiring citizens to present documentary proof of citizenship in order to register to vote, and (2) imposing a restrictive identification requirement as a condition of casting a ballot at the polls. For those voters who cannot meet its strict and unnecessary requirements, Proposition 200 imposes a 21st century poll tax by requiring that voters purchase acceptable forms of identification. By creating a price tag to vote, Proposition 200’s unconstitutional burden disproportionately disenfranchised Arizona’s minority voters, Native Americans, the elderly, the disabled and students.

Proposition 200’s proof of citizenship requirement has already blocked nearly 21,000 Arizonans from registering to vote. The Court’s order enjoins Proposition 200’s registration proof of citizen requirements so that eligible voters can register before the October 9 registration deadline, and enjoins Proposition 200’s polling place identification requirements so that citizens can vote in this year’s critical mid-term election.

The plaintiffs who filed the emergency motion with the 9th Circuit are The Intertribal Council of Arizona, Inc., The League of Women Voters of Arizona, The Hopi Tribe, The League of United Latin American Citizens, The Arizona Advocacy Network, The People For the American Way Foundation, and Rep. Steve M. Gallardo are represented by the law firms of Osborn Maledon and Steptoe & Johnson , The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the American Civil Liberties Union Southern Regional Office, AARP Foundation Litigation, People For the American Way Foundation, and Sparks, Tehan & Ryley.

August 16, 2006: The East Valley Tribune outlines the problems with Proposition 200, Arizona’s new law requiring proof of citizenship when registering and photo ID when voting. The Maricopa County Recorder’s office (which includes the city of Phoenix) stated that one out of every six new registration forms has been rejected because the applicant did not provide proper proof of citizenship. A spokeswoman for the county recorder’s office noted that most of the applicants were pobably legal citizens.

East Valley Tribune: ID law blocking legal Maricopa County votes

August 13, 2006: Congress’ photo ID road show went to Arizona recently and heard about the real people being denied the right to vote by these burdensome requirements. Eva Steele, a declarant in the National Campaign’s recent lawsuit opposing the Arizona photo ID law and the mother of an Army reservist currently serving in Iraq, lives in an assisted-living facility in Arizona due to a physical disability. Under Arizona’s new law, Eva would not be able to present proper identification and would therefore be denied the right to vote.

Read Eva’s testimony to the House Administration Committee.

The Arizona Republic: A Soldier’s Mother is denied her right to vote and to speak

August 9, 2006: Today, the Lawyers’ Committee and the litigation team representing the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona and other plaintiffs filed a brief supporting the plaintiffs request for a preliminary injunction to stop implementation of Prop. 200, Arizona’s new law requiring proof of citizenship at time of registration and photo ID when voting.

Read the brief here.

August 1, 2006: The United States House of Representative’s Committee on House Administration will be holding Field Hearings in Arizona and New Mexico to explore a national requirement for proof of citizenship when registering to vote and photo identification when voting. National voting rights organizations and a diverse group of Arizona advocates urged the Committee to fully consider the disenfranchising effects of such legislation. Rather than restricting the right to vote for eligible citizens based on exceedingly rare occurrences of ineligible voters casting a ballot, Congress should focus its attention on safeguarding the opportunity of all eligible Americans to meaningfully participate in the political process.

Read our letter to the House Administration Committee.

May 24, 2006: A broad coalition of Arizonans filed a lawsuit in United States District Court in Phoenix, AZ to prevent the Secretary of State from violating the basic rights of all eligible citizens to cast a meaningful ballot by implementing provisions of the “Arizona Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act” (ATCPA). The diversity of the coalition demonstrates the incredibly broad disenfranchising impact that ATCPA has on Arizona’s electorate.

Read more.