Early Early Ballots?? Late Early Ballots??

 There seems to be massive/widespread confusion about when EARLY BALLOTS are counted in Arizona. And I blame the news media for at least perpetuating –if not causing—that confusion.

For the record, if, as an Arizona voter, you are on the Permanent Early Voter List (PEVL),  you mail your early ballot before the Friday before Election Day, and it is received at the County Recorder’s office by around noon on the Monday before Election Day, it is counted immediately.  Not saved until Election Day.  Not saved until the day after Election Day. 

I say “around noon” because as you know, elections ain’t cheap. The County Elections Office doesn’t staff for the growing number of these early ballots.

As a result, not ALL early ballots received before election day are counted early.

The office ends up with a backlog, often very large (100,000+) that come in over the last 5 days or so, and most of these are also LATE early ballots and do not get counted before Elections Office staff stop counting early ballots around noon on Monday. But they are COUNTED.

How do I know?  Because 2 days after I mailed my ballot I went online: https://recorder.maricopa.gov/earlyvoteballotnet/evbstatus.aspx

After identifying myself I learned that my ballot was RECEIVED and COUNTED.

Let me repeat that for emphasis: Early ballots are counted early as long as they are postmarked the Friday BEFORE Election Day and received midday the Monday BEFORE Election Day.  But they are all COUNTED.

Now, for further emphasis, here it is in BOLD FACE: Early ballots are counted EARLY as long as they are postmarked the Friday BEFORE Election Day and received midday the Monday BEFORE Election Day. But they are all COUNTED.

So which are the early ballots that news media report a week after Election Day are still being counted?

It’s simple: “Early Ballots” that are received at the Elections Office after midday on the day before Election Day, OR were brought by hand to a polling place ON Election Day, are LATE Early Ballots.  And they are counted AFTER the ballots that were voted on Election Day.  But they are COUNTED.

Here it is again in BOLD FACE: LATE Early Ballot are counted AFTER the ballots that were voted ON or BEFORE Election Day.  But they are COUNTED.

Get it?

Good!!

CERTAINLY NOT A DIARY….

For the next few months these entries will be more like an account of the run-up to Election Day, Nov 4, with Early Voting starting October 9.

There’s a big push to get people on the Permanent Early Voter List, with a deadline of October 24.  Lotsa reasons, not the least of which that it enables us to narrow our focus as we Get Out The Vote.   Why is it that some states only have vote-by-mail, while ours is trying to restrict it?

Volunteers are out knocking on doors to talk to voters, enable them to sign cards to be on the Permanent Early Voter List, and to register new voters.  I’m the one who enters most of that data into our databases, and then I bring them to the County Elections Office.

Last week I submitted 84 PEVL cards and 12 new voter registration forms.  This morning it was 54 and 10 –but the week isn’t over yet.

The last day to register is October 6.  Why is it that some states extended the registration deadline to Election Day?

Aside from that, it’s hectic sitting at the front desk and taking incoming calls.

People come in for brochures and yard signs.  They leave as volunteers.  Some highlights:

-A pastor who moved here from Minneapolis, gave up his generations-long party affiliation after realizing that he had already changed his sexual orientation, and is now knocking on doors.

-A lady who had discovered a major error in the date of the 2012 Election Day in a letter that was sent to Spanish-speaking voters.  She’s now knocking on doors and making calls to make sure that this time around there’s no confusion on dates.

-A retired area firefighter with the time and energy to put out the tea-party and light fires under the uncommitted voters.

People call in with questions and complaints. They become volunteers.  Sorry.  They’re too numerous to mention, and it’s hard to take notes and be persuasive at the same time.  Trust me: It’s a hoot.  I’ll try to remember the highlights.

Oh.  In my spare time I’ve been planting yard signs in my neighborhood.  It’s kinda like being the Welcome Wagon rep –only more rewarding.  The other day I put one in the wrong yard.  Somehow the lady knew exactly who to return it to –and was quite nice about it.

Arizona vs. Colorado Voting Rules

My #3 Son, Mark, sent this along to me.   It's from the Aspen (CO) Daily News. It's fascinating in the distinction that it displays between voting laws in these two states: Exclusionary vs. Inclusive.   Suppression vs. Encouragement.  Amazing.




Polling places to be replaced by voting centers in the fall election
by Brent Gardner-Smith, Aspen Journalism
Saturday, June 22, 2013


A citizen task force convened this week by Pitkin County Clerk and Recorder Janice Vos Caudill has recommended that three required “voter service centers” be established in Aspen, Snowmass Village and Emma to replace eight traditional neighborhood polling places.

A new state law adopted in May requires that “voter service and polling centers” be established to replace polling places set up by precinct.

The new law, House Bill 13-1303, also requires that all Colorado voters this fall be sent mail-in ballots, regardless of whether a voter has requested one or not.

The voting centers are designed to help voters work through any problems casting their vote on election day, including checking the status of their mail-in ballot by accessing an online voter database managed by the Colorado secretary of state’s office.

The Pitkin County election task force recommended the service centers be set up at the Pitkin County clerk’s office in the county administration building on Main Street in Aspen, in the Snowmass Village Town Hall and at Grace Church in Emma near Basalt.

The task force was convened under the direction of Vos Caudill and includes Frieda Wallison, chair of the Pitkin County Republican party; Michael Simmons, the vice chair of the Pitkin County Democratic party; Chuck Downey, representing the Redstone area; Dorothea Farris a former Pitkin County commissioner; and Jackie Dean, an attorney who lives in Snowmass Village.

The task force reviewed criteria for a voter service center, including the public nature of the building, the proximity to public transit, the amount of parking and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The centers also have to be inside Pitkin County. 

Vos Caudill said there was no obvious choice for a downvalley location inside lower Pitkin County for a voter service center. The Basalt Town Hall, for example, is just inside the Eagle County line.

And Vos Caudill said she has not yet had time to discuss the task force’s recommendations with officials in Snowmass Village or at Grace Church, which the county once sued in an effort to prevent them from building their religious facility in Emma.

She is open to feedback about the task force’s recommendations, Vos Caudill said, and noted that she will be presenting recommendations on the location of the centers to the board of county commissioners on July 10.

The new voter service centers, wherever they end up, will replace the county’s previous eight polling places, which accommodated voters from 10 precincts.

The old polling places were in the Rio Grande building behind the county courthouse, the Red Brick building in the West End, the Schultz Health and Human Services building by the hospital, the Snowmass Village Town Hall, the Old Snowmass fire station, St. Peters Church in Basalt and Redstone Church in Redstone.

The new election rules provide voters with an array of ways to cast their vote.

Citizens can vote early beginning 15 days before the election. In Pitkin County, early voting will be at the county clerk’s office.

Mail-in ballots, which will go out at least 18 days before an election, can be returned by mail in advance or on election day.

They also can be dropped off at the clerk’s office, in advance or on election day.

Also on election day, voters can cast a replacement ballot at a voter service center if they don’t have their mail-in ballot.

The election law also allows voter registration in person or through the mail up to 22 days before an election, online up to eight days before the election, and in-person on election day at the county clerk’s office and at voting centers.

Further, the law reduces the residency requirement to vote in an election from 30 days in a precinct to 22 days anywhere in the state.


Editor’s note: Aspen Journalism and the Aspen Daily News are collaborating on coverage of issues related to land, water and wealth, among other topics, in Pitkin County. To reach Brent, email him at bgardersmith@gmail.com.