Since voters approved allowing elections to be conducted by mail-in ballot, confusion has surfaced over which elections are mail-in and which have polling places.
The upcoming general election, in which Arizona voters will pick state and federal representatives, a governor and an attorney general, is a polling place election. This means Tuesday, Nov. 2, election volunteers will staff polling locations in each community where residents can vote, just as it was done before mail-in ballots became an option.
The confusion arises from the fact that if you vote early in this polling place election, you can, in fact, vote by mail.
Early voting starts Thursday, Oct. 7.
Yavapai County will send a ballot to any voter who registers for early voting by Friday, Oct. 22. Those individuals will receive their ballot in the mail and can also return it by mail. The ballot must be returned by Nov. 2.
Voters also have the option of voting early in person. In-person early voting can be done until Friday, Oct. 29. Early voting in the Verde Valley takes place at the Yavapai County Cottonwood Annex.
Anyone who misses the early voting deadlines must visit the polling place in his or her community to cast a vote on Nov. 2.
To vote in the general election legal residents of the state must be registered by Monday, Oct. 4.
Mail-in elections have made voting easier for many busy Verde Valley residents, and it appears some may have become accustomed to it.
Less than half of the registered voters in Yavapai County cast a ballot in the Aug. 24 primary election.
The Yavapai County Recorder’s office reported voter turnout at 41.35 percent.
The primary election was also a polling-place election with the option to request an earlier mail-in ballot.
For more information about when, where and how to vote visit the county’s website or call the Cottonwood county office at 639-5807.
