Maricopa County stresses importance of keeping ballot pages together

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Nonpartisan election officials across the country are warning of widespread problems with the U.S. mail system, which they say could disenfranchise voters in the upcoming presidential election.

The U.S. Postal Service is accused of sending mailed ballots postmarked on time days after the deadline and returning properly addressed election mail as undeliverable.

Leaders here in Maricopa County are also drawing attention to potential problems. It’s only the second time in recent history that a ballot in Maricopa County has spilled over two pages.

Experts have been testing and planning to avoid problems, but they caution that the process could bring surprises. This may be especially consequential at a time when election integrity is already in the spotlight.

“There’s always problems, there’s always mistakes. It’s a gigantic people operation,” said Clint Hickman, Maricopa County Supervisor representing District 4.

While it is impossible to predict every problem, County Supervisor Thomas Galvin, who represents District 2, raised a question he believes could impact some families.

“I have a constituent in Mesa who has an elderly parent in Scottsdale,” he said. “What would happen if that constituent in Mesa, on a Saturday or Sunday, visits with their elderly parent and they both go over their ballots together. But they both fill out page one and they mix up page two? Now you have ‘page 2′ for the Scottsdale election with the Mesa’ page 1′ and vice versa and those get sent in.”

The county elections department says that in that instance, both ballots would be rejected and not counted.

Whether that voter would be notified through the “track your ballot” notification system is up in the air.

“The Secretary of State’s currently considering the guidance that they’re going to issue for counties on how those types of notifications happen or don’t happen,” said Maricopa County Elections Director Scott Jarrett.

Issues could also arise on Election Day if a tabulator counts only the ballot’s first page but doesn’t take the second.

The voter would then have to place their ballot in “Door 3,” which was the subject of misinformation in 2022. Then-GOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward questioned the process.

“Inserting their ballot into a box such as door 3 and having it tabulated back at central count is how a substantial of other counties in Arizona vote, “said Assistant County Manager Zach Schira. “That is a normal process for voting the State of Arizona.”

To avoid “Door 3,” they advise voters to avoid checkmarks or “x-marks” and instead fill in the oval bubble on the ballot.

Other concerns include obvious ones like ballot paper, which wouldn’t be a new issue in Arizona. In 2022, the secretary of state discovered that 6,000 mail-in ballots had been sent out with significant errors, requiring a second print and more paper.

“We have more than enough paper for the selection, even with the to two-page ballot. That even goes to the toner that we had,” said Jarrett.

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