Overview

The County Elections Director is not explicitly described in Arizona statute. However, the Elections Director in practice is responsible for various election duties enumerated in statute and the Election Procedures Manual as belonging to the “officer in charge of elections.” The County Elections Director is also responsible for the day-to-day election responsibilities delegated to them by the County Board of Supervisors and the County Recorder. Each county has an Elections Director, however in some counties (Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, and Santa Cruz) this individual also takes on the role of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors. “Arizona County Elections Directors.” In Coconino County, the Elections Director is called the Administrator. “Arizona County Elections Directors.”

In some counties the County Elections Director may also further delegate some of their responsibilities to other personnel within their office. For example, in Graham County, the County Elections Director is responsible for recruiting, hiring, and training poll workers and election boards. “Graham Elections.” However, in Mohave County, this work is the responsibility of the Elections Specialist. “Elections Specialist Job Description.”

Election-Related Duties

There are few statutorily defined responsibilities of the County Elections Director. However, both the County Board of Supervisors and the County Recorder delegate many responsibilities to the “officer in charge of elections.” See the County Board of Supervisors and County Recorders pages for more duties that may be delegated. Note that some of the duties listed here may be county-specific.

  1. “Establish[ing] election precinct boundaries.” “Apache Elections.”
  2. Managing and “secur[ing] polling place locations.” “Apache Elections;” see also “Graham Elections;” “Santa Cruz Elections.”
  3. Recruiting, hiring, and training poll workers and election boards. “Graham Elections.”
  4. Issuing, accepting, and maintaining filings related to candidates, initiatives, referenda, recalls, and campaign financial reports. “Apache Elections.”
  5. Assisting with voter registration services (in conjunction with the County Recorder’s office). “Navajo Elections.”
  6. Developing and implementing processes for secure ballot retrieval and chain-of-custody procedures. [1] *2023 EPM* at 72, 76.
  7. Developing a written incident response plan, “outlining how they will respond to and report election incidents that have security implications and/or may disrupt election operations.” [2][3] *2023 EPM* at 107.
  8. Developing local procedures for political party observers to effectively observe the election process. 2023 EPM at 138.
  9. Establishing and appointing members of the Central Counting Place Boards. 2023 EPM at 201, 208.
  10. Printing election-related materials. “Apache Elections.”
  11. Being responsible for pre- and post-election logic and accuracy testing. 2023 EPM at 87, 243. “Prepar[ing], allocate[ing], and transport[ing] election materials to and from polling places.” “Apache Elections.”
  12. Performing “all necessary audits” and addressing “any discrepancies” before the Board of Supervisors can canvass the election results. [4] 2023 EPM at 248.
  13. Receiving and reviewing signatures of returned vote-by-mail ballots (along with the County Recorder). A.R.S. § 16-551(C); 2023 EPM at 71, 83–84.
  14. Tabulating vote-by-mail (early) ballots. 2023 EPM at 83, 205.