By Jeremy Beren / NewsBreak Pinal County, AZ
(Florence, Ariz.) — The 2022 primary elections are nearly upon us. These elections, which preface the November midterms, will narrow the playing field in several contests around the state.
Thousands of Arizonans will be heading to the polls on Tuesday to cast their vote in federal and state primaries, as well as county races and local municipal contests.
The run-up to the primaries in Pinal County has been dominated by an unfortunate human error that affected more than 60,000 early-voting ballots mailed out to residents in seven separate communities around the county. The error was programming-based in nature, and it is believed to have impacted more than half of the early ballots mailed last month.
County officials' fix came in the form of supplemental ballots mailed to residents, which listed the correct nonpartisan municipal races and candidates. Still, many voters prefer to cast their vote in-person at a local polling station on Election Day itself — and voters who did not mail back their early ballot before July 27 now must head out to the polls to make their voice heard.
Voter registration status
Unsure whether you're registered to vote? July 5 was the last day to register for the primaries. The statewide Voter Information Portal allows prospective voters to check on their registration and find their local polling place. If your voter registration quickly needs to be updated with a current address, head over to Service Arizona and follow the prompts that appear onscreen.
If you're going to be voting in-person on Tuesday, you need a valid form of identification (such as a driver's license or a state-issued ID card) with a current address that matches what's on file with the County Recorder's office. If these addresses do not match, you will need to provide additional documentation.
Making sure you know where to vote
You should also make sure you know precisely where you're going to vote, let alone when. The Pinal County Elections Department has provided an interactive, searchable map where residents can find detailed information about where to vote on Election Day.
While you're waiting to cast your vote at a local polling station, make sure to say "hello" to the poll workers on-site. These residents receive pay for training and working the polls, but they are largely volunteers serving their communities. There can be up to eight poll workers at a given polling site, and they work long hours to perform their civic duty during elections — up to 14-hour days.
And don't worry about scrambling to make your way to a polling station. These locations will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. around the state on Tuesday.
Once they are compiled and announced, results for the federal and legislative races can be viewed here. The local race results — including ballot initiatives and the municipal races affected by the programming mishap — can be viewed on this page. The Pinal County Recorder's website will also house the results once tabulated.
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