To vote by mail in Arizona, either join the Active Early Voting List so a ballot arrives automatically for every election, or request an Arizona mail-in ballot for a specific election from your county recorder. Mark it, sign the affidavit on the return envelope, and get it back to election officials by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. A postmark doesn’t count, and only certain people are allowed to return it on your behalf.
Getting a Ballot Mailed to You
Arizona offers two routes. The first is the Active Early Voting List (AEVL), formerly called the Permanent Early Voting List. Once you’re on it, your county recorder automatically mails you a ballot for every election you’re eligible to vote in.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 16-544 – Active Early Voting List; Civil Penalty; Violation; Classification Ballots go out no later than the first day of early voting, 27 days before Election Day. You can sign up through Arizona’s online voter registration portal, by contacting your county recorder, or by checking the AEVL box on your voter registration form. The request can be verbal or written.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 16-542 – Request for Ballot; Civil Penalties; Violation; Classification
The second route is a one-time request. Starting 93 days before Election Day, any registered voter can ask the county recorder for a ballot for that specific election. You’ll provide your name, address, date of birth, and state or country of birth so the recorder can match you against the registration record.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 16-542 – Request for Ballot; Civil Penalties; Violation; Classification Mailed requests must reach the recorder by 5:00 p.m. on the eleventh day before the election. A single request covers both the primary and general election if you want both.
If you miss the mail-request window, you can still show up in person at an on-site early voting location with valid ID through 7:00 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day and receive a ballot there.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 16-542 – Request for Ballot; Civil Penalties; Violation; Classification
Independent Voters and Primaries
If you’re registered without a party affiliation, being on the AEVL does not automatically get you a partisan primary ballot. You have to tell your county recorder which party’s primary ballot you want, at least 45 days before the primary. Miss that window and you won’t get a primary ballot that cycle, though you stay on the AEVL for future elections.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 16-544 – Active Early Voting List; Civil Penalty; Violation; Classification You can also request a ballot limited to nonpartisan offices and ballot measures.
Marking the Ballot and Signing the Envelope
Your packet contains the ballot, an affidavit envelope, and printed instructions. The envelope is what makes the ballot count: one side is addressed back to the recorder, and the other side carries a printed affidavit you must sign, declaring under penalty of perjury that you are a registered voter and that you personally marked the ballot.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 16-547 – Ballot Affidavit
If someone helped you mark the ballot because of a physical limitation, that person also fills out a short declaration on the envelope with their name and address. Arizona does not recognize power of attorney for voting, so even when you need physical help, the choices on the ballot must be yours.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 16-547 – Ballot Affidavit
Check the signature before you seal the envelope. A missing signature is the single most consequential mistake you can make.
Returning It by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day
Every early ballot must be in the hands of election officials by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. A postmark does not count. A ballot that arrives at 7:01 is rejected no matter when you mailed it.4Citizens Clean Elections Commission. Tabulation Timeline The deadline is the same whether you use the mail, a drop box, or hand-delivery.
If you’re using the U.S. Postal Service, send it at least a week before Election Day. Postal transit times vary and there’s no safety net for slow mail. If you’re close to the deadline, drop it off in person instead. Any official ballot drop box in your county, any designated voting location, or the county recorder’s office will accept it.
Who’s Allowed to Return It for You
Arizona strictly limits who can carry another person’s ballot. Knowingly collecting someone else’s voted or unvoted early ballot is a class 6 felony, and it rises to a class 5 felony if the collector fails to turn the ballots in to an election official or the postal service.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 16-1005 – Ballot Abuse; Violation; Classification
The law allows only a few people to return your ballot for you:
- A family member, meaning someone related to you by blood, marriage, adoption, or legal guardianship.
- A household member, meaning anyone who lives at your address.
- A caregiver who provides medical or health care assistance to you at your home, a nursing facility, hospice, assisted living center, or similar care setting.
Election officials and postal workers handling ballots in the course of their jobs are also exempt.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 16-1005 – Ballot Abuse; Violation; Classification Outside those categories, no one else can handle your ballot. A neighbor, coworker, or campaign volunteer who offers to drop it off is breaking the law even with good intentions.
Signature Verification and Fixing Problems
When your ballot arrives, an evaluator at the recorder’s office compares the signature on the affidavit envelope against the signature in your voter registration record.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 16-550.01 – Signature Verification; Procedures; Exemption; Intent; Definitions Mismatches are one of the most common reasons ballots get flagged. Sign roughly the way you signed your voter registration, and if your signature has drifted over the years, update your registration to match how you sign today.
If your signature doesn’t match, the recorder will try to reach you by phone, email, or mail so you can confirm the signature and have the ballot counted. For elections that include a federal office, you have until the fifth business day after the election to cure it. For all other elections, the deadline is the third business day after the election.7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 16-550 – Receipt of Voter’s Ballot When a federal race is on the ballot, recorder offices stay open during regular business hours on the Fridays and weekends before and after Election Day for curing.
A missing signature is treated differently. If you forgot to sign the affidavit at all, you have only until 7:00 p.m. on Election Day to add it. After that, the ballot is rejected.7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 16-550 – Receipt of Voter’s Ballot
Tracking Your Ballot
Once you’ve sent it back, you can follow your ballot through Arizona’s online tracker at my.arizona.vote. The tracker shows when the ballot was mailed to you, when the county received it, and whether the signature was verified and the ballot accepted. If there’s a signature problem, the tracker is often the fastest way to find out while you still have time to cure it.