Permanent Early Voting Now Available in Coconino County
The Coconino County Elections Office is excited to offer County voters the opportunity to sign up for a Permanent Early Voting List. For those who choose to participate, an Early Voting Ballot (for every election they are eligible to participate in) will be sent to the voter, without having to request a ballot for each election.
“The Elections Office is excited to offer this service to County voters,” said Coconino County Recorder Candace Owens. “The Permanent Early Voting List is one more way to make voting easier and more accessible to all.”
To qualify for the Permanent Early Voting List, Arizona law requires that the mailing address of the voter must be within Coconino County. Military and overseas voters are exempt from this restriction.
To be added to the Permanent Early Voting List, the voter must make a written request. Once on the list, the voter will remain on it until their voter registration is cancelled, mail sent to the voter is returned by the postal service marked “Undeliverable”, or the voter requests in writing to be removed from the list, whichever occurs first.
Voters whose names are on the list will receive notice of the dates of the upcoming elections, the dates that ballots are expected to be mailed, and the address where the ballots are to be mailed. The notice will allow the voter to choose not to receive an early ballot for one or all of the elections, to update their residence or mailing address, request that their ballot be mailed to a different address, or to remove their name from the list entirely.
If the upcoming election is a partisan primary election, and the voter is not registered as a member of one of the recognized political parties participating in the election, the notice will include information on how to select a political party ballot for that election.
Permanent early voting was approved by the State legislature in their last session. The new law is in effect for voters eligible to vote in the February 5, 2008 Presidential Preference Election.
Because early voting in Arizona was in such high demand, County Recorders statewide asked for legislation that would establish a way for voters to be placed on a Permanent Early Voting List. The list eliminates the need for a voter to continually request a ballot for each election in which they are eligible to vote.
The Elections Office has Permanent Early Voting List request forms available now. Voters may also watch for local newspaper ads which will contain a request form that can be clipped, filled out and mailed to the Coconino County Elections Office, 110 E. Cherry, Flagstaff, AZ 86001. Requests to be on the permanent early voting list cannot be taken over the phone.
TO DOWNLOAD THE PERMANENT EARLY VOTING LIST REQUEST FORM click HERE
For more information, call the Elections Office at (928) 679-7860; toll-free (800) 793-6181.