By Victoria Kauzlarich, Chair, LD3 Dems
Okay, everyone… Take a deep breath. It's just 52 days until ballots go out for our July 30th primary! Yikes. Ready or not, here it comes!
As to the getting ready part? Read on. You’ve got this.
MCRO Puts it All Together
This year - just a few days ago, in fact - the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office (MCRO) came to our rescue with a web address that puts everything we need to know in a single, easy to use location. It’s called request.maricopa.vote. This one stop shop is pretty amazing. Here are all the things you can do there.
Request a Mail Ballot
If you’re not on the early vote list, you can request a one-time mail-in ballot. If you’re an Independent, you can request a party ballot there too. Independent voter turnout for our primaries is only about 15%. This is a great opportunity to pick up votes. Tell your Independent friends about this one.
Sign Up for the Early Vote List
If you don’t get your ballots by mail and you’d like to, you can get that done at request.maricopa.vote, too.
Track Your Ballot
If you haven’t signed up for ballot tracking, you should. It delivers the best peace of mind going. Once you sign up, you’ll get a text when your ballot is being prepared for the upcoming election and when it has been mailed to you. Then, after you’ve returned your ballot, you’ll get a text when it is received, when your signature has been verified and when your ballot has been counted. This service works just like package tracking.
You can also sign up for ballot tracking by texting 628-683. Type “join” in the message box and follow the prompts. Tell your friends and neighbors to do the same.
Access Your Voter Dashboard
In the run-up to any election, it is always a good idea to verify that your voter information remains correct in the Recorder’s system, especially if you’ve moved. Think of this as a bit of voter maintenance. It only takes a couple of minutes and allows you to head off a problem early.
Apply to be a Poll Worker
For those of you who want to help with the election, you can even apply to be a poll worker at request.maricopa.vote. This includes both paid and non-paid positions, along with descriptions of the jobs and rates of pay.
Now, About Being Out of Town for the Primary
If you are going to be elsewhere during the month of July, please remember that your mail-in ballot will NOT be forwarded like the rest of your mail. You MUST file a temporary change of address request AND you MUST do so no later than 6/13/24.
I’ve just gone through this process myself and I have a couple of pro tips.
Call the recorder’s office to file your temporary address. Just pick up the phone. Talk to a real person and then a couple of days later, go to beballotready.vote to confirm that your temporary address is in the system. Staff at the Recorder’s office are truly helpful and very patient. The number to call is 602-506-1511. Do it now. Get this one off your “to do” list.
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