Arizona provides three opportunities for voting: vote-by-mail, in-person early voting, and in-person voting on Election Day, which can lead to some variations in the processing and tabulation of ballots. [1] The first two, vote-by-mail and in-person early vote, both fall under the umbrella of “early voting” and are referred to in the EPM as “early ballots.” 2023 EPM at 55. Additional variation occurs in the processing and tabulation of vote-by-mail ballots depending on whether those ballots are submitted via the mail or dropped off in person.
In order to be counted, all vote-by-mail ballots must be received by the County Recorder or County Elections Director before 7 p.m. on Election Day. A.R.S. § 16-551(C); 2023 EPM at 71. Ballots received before Election Day then undergo signature matching, followed by additional preprocessing by the Early Ballot Board. Ballots Received on Election Day also go through signature matching, processing, and tabulation. However, for Election Day ballots, signature matching, processing, and tabulation take place at the polling place in some counties if the ballot is dropped off in person. In other counties, or where ballots are received via mail, processing and tabulation take place at the central counting place. 2023 EPM at 87, 192; [2] A.R.S. § 16.579.01(A).
Signature matching can begin as soon as ballots are received back by the County Recorder. 2023 EPM at 83. While the EPM does not provide a date when Early Ballot Boards can begin their work, the earliest that early ballots can be distributed is 27 days before the election. A.R.S. § 16-542(C). Therefore, the earliest that the Early Ballot Boards could begin their work would presumably be 27 days before the election.
Tabulation, however, may not begin until the County Elections Director confirms with the Secretary of State that all equipment has passed the required logic and accuracy tests. A.R.S. § 16-552(A); 2023 EPM at 87. For the 2024 General Election, the Secretary of State requires logic and accuracy testing to be performed not later than 17 days of the election (October 19, 2024). A.R.S. § 16-449(A); “SoS 2024 Election Calendar” at 17. After this, vote-by-mail ballots may be tabulated immediately by the Early Ballot Board upon receipt and confirmation of the voters’ envelopes and affidavits. 2023 EPM at 87. Nonetheless, results cannot be reported until either all ballots cast on Election Day at voting locations have been tabulated, or one hour after all polls in the jurisdiction have closed on Election Day. 2023 EPM at 87.
At the discretion of the County, tabulation itself may take place either at the central counting place or at the voter’s designated polling location.
The County Recorder or a designee reviews all early ballots for the voter’s signature on the ballot affidavit. [3] 2023 EPM at 83. When a ballot is returned via mail this process involves comparing the signature on the ballot’s affidavit envelope with a known signature of the voter from “official election documents in the voter’s registration record, such as signature rosters, prior early ballot affidavits, and early ballot/[active early voter list] request forms.” 2023 EPM at 83. On the other hand, if the ballot is dropped off in person then signature review is not required if the voter can provide satisfactory identification—just as if they were voting in person. [4] A.R.S. § 16-579(A)(1); 2023 EPM at 193. For more details on signature verification processes see Signature Review.
After signature review is complete, the County Recorder checks early ballots to ensure that the affidavit on each one is “sufficient” and the individual submitting the ballot is a qualified voter of the voting precinct. 2023 EPM at 85. The County Recorder then batches and delivers the signature-verified ballots received before Election Day to the Early Ballot Board. 2023 EPM at 85. Ballots received on Election Day, however, either are processed and tabulated at the precinct or at the central counting place. A.R.S. § 16-579.02(E).
After the County Recorder reviews the affidavit and completes the signature review, any ballots received before Election Day are transported to the Early Ballot Board for pre-processing. This process involves checking in the ballots and confirming they are in the correct batch, opening the outer affidavit envelope, counting the number of ballots, and then sending them to tabulation.
First, upon receipt, the Early Ballot Board reviews each ballot received to make sure it is included on the list provided by the County Recorder for the batch they are supposed to be processing. 2023 EPM at 85. Any ballots that were unintentionally comingled with the batch are separated and set aside so they can be joined with the proper batch. 2023 EPM at 85. All this information (i.e., the total number of ballots received by the Early Ballot Board) is recorded on an early ballot report. [5] 2023 EPM at 85.
Once the Early Ballot Board has confirmed the ballot is in the proper batch, they then open the affidavit envelope. 2023 EPM at 86. They do this carefully so that neither the ballot nor the affidavit printed on the envelope is damaged. 2023 EPM at 86. The Early Ballot Board then removes the ballot and confirms that the ballot is for the current election. 2023 EPM at 86. All ballots and affidavit envelopes are then stacked in separate piles and the Early Ballot Board counts the number of ballots in the stack. Finally, the Early Ballot Board completes a ballot transmittal slip [6] and sends most ballots to the County Elections Director for tabulation. 2023 EPM at 86.
There are a few exceptions here, such as damaged ballots sent to the Ballot Duplication Board. 2023 EPM at 86–87. Ballots where a voter was sent an incorrect ballot and is eligible to vote in some but not all the races on that ballot might also be sent to the Ballot Duplication Board to capture the choices of the races the voter was lawfully entitled to vote for. 2023 EPM at 84. However, where enough time remains, the Elections Director must instead make “reasonable efforts” to issue a new ballot. 2023 EPM at 84. Finally, a ballot that is rejected, such as for lack of signature, ineligible information on the affidavit envelope, wrong county, etc., is not sent to tabulation. 2023 EPM at 84. Instead, it is left unopened, stacked separately and marked with the reason for rejection. 2023 EPM at 84.
The Ballot Duplication Board’s role is to ensure that a voter’s intent is tabulated in situations when that voter’s ballot cannot be scanned by tabulation equipment. They do this by creating duplicate ballots by hand, according to the “clearly indicated … intent” of the voter. 2023 EPM at 206. If the voter’s intent is not clear or the Ballot Duplication Board does not agree on the voter’s intent, the ballot is referred to the Snag Board or the County Elections Director. 2023 EPM at 206. Additionally, in some limited cases, counties also have the option to either supplement or replace the work of the Ballot Duplication Board with an Electronic Vote Adjudication Board. 2023 EPM at 208.
When an Early Ballot Board has completed processing a batch of ballots, it calculates a “cumulative total” for the number of affidavit envelopes received, the number of ballots sent to the Ballot Duplication Board, the number of ballots rejected, and the number of ballots sent to the central counting place. 2023 EPM at 87. The Early Ballot Board then verifies and audits these numbers. (e.g., “the total number of affidavit envelopes collected should match the cumulative total on the early voting ballot report”.) 2023 EPM at 87. Paperwork completed by the Early Ballot Board is also placed into “an official envelope … with a tamper-resistant or tamper-evident seal.” 2023 EPM at 87.
If the ballots need to be transferred to a different building for tabulation, the ballots are transported “in a secure manner by at least two election officials” who cannot be from the same political party. 2023 EPM at 87. During transport, the ballots are contained in a ballot transfer container that is sealed with either a “tamper-resistant or tamper-evident seal” along with transfer and chain of custody documentation. 2023 EPM at 87.