<aside> 🗳️ About This Report
This report aims to build confidence in Arizona’s voting system by shedding light on the processes, checks, and quality assurance steps in place that ensure fair and free elections, and, ultimately, a stronger democracy.
Here you will find a detailed overview of the processes and offices and personnel that govern vote counting and election certification, as well as a timeline of key dates. We have also identified potential process and personnel vulnerabilities to better help our pro-democracy partners monitor our elections and target corrective action to protect the integrity of our elections.
Please note, throughout the report, the blue ballot icon indicates research on legal and election process questions. The orange ballot icon indicates strategic research and potential threats. If you would like to share any feedback on this report or have questions for our research team, contact us at: info[at]informingdemocracy[dot]org.
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Arizona possesses an election system with strong checks and balances. Arizona election law is fairly uniform and governed by statute, complemented by the Election Procedures Manual (EPM). The EPM is an important binding authority that is updated every two years by the Secretary of State. There is, however, some variation in county election administration. County Boards of Supervisors possess limited discretion in several decision areas such as setting tabulation procedures and delegating powers to Election Directors and County Recorders.
Additionally, there are strong protections for election security in Arizona law, including strict penalties in the election code that may be used to to compel election officers to fulfill their election duties, and in severe cases charge officials both criminally and civilly. In recent years, Arizona courts have played a positive role in enforcing state election law. The current Secretary of State and Attorney General have also shown a strong willingness to use their oversight and enforcement powers by seeking legal action against bad actors.
This section provides information about the key officers and personnel in charge of election administration in Arizona. Click on each office below for complete details.
Secretary of State + Department of Elections
Org Chart: Arizona Election Administration
This section provides information about the election administration processes that key Arizona election officials at the county and state level undertake after polls close on Election Day. These processes must follow a strict cadence prescribed by statute that ensures that election results are timely certified and accurately reflect the will of voters. Click on each process section below for complete details.
Legal Protections for Canvass + Certification
We strongly believe in the security of elections in Arizona, however we expect to see continued efforts to undermine elections through illegal attempts to delay certification or conduct hand counts. This could lead to increased chaos and a potential delay in the vote counting process in the state.
While there remain some open questions of law, the majority of election vulnerabilities in Arizona are due to bad faith actors blatantly violating settled election law. We highlight areas that have been targeted in the past as well as potential areas that may be vulnerable this election cycle.
We have also tried to identify individuals closely involved in the administration of Arizona’s elections who could pose such threats, as well as identifying concerning patterns involving those who run the state’s elections and how some officers of elections are trained. Read more about these potential vulnerabilities here: