Voters to decide 3 council seats Tuesday; turn in early ballots now

The city reminds residents with early ballots to turn them in promptly and those who plan to vote at the polls on Nov. 7 to know their polling location and arrive with proper identification.

Yuma voters will decide three at-large seats on the city council. Six candidates are on the ballot; voters may select up to three candidates per ballot.

Council seats are at-large, not responsible for individual geographical areas. City elections are nonpartisan.

To ensure timely delivery of early ballots from this point onward, the city asks voters to drop off early ballots at the office of the Yuma County Recorder located at 197 S. Main St. The Recorder’s Office has a collection receptacle outside the building for deposit of early ballots anytime, at the voter’s convenience, until Tuesday.

An additional ballot receptacle has been set up at the headquarters of the Yuma Police Department, 1500 S. 1st Ave.

While early ballots may also be dropped off at any of the three polling places on Tuesday, there is no guarantee ballots dropped off that day will be processed, verified and tallied in time to be included with Tuesday night’s results. These will be counted as part of the official total when counting is complete, usually later in the week.

Any mail-in ballots that arrive after polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday will not be counted.

Registered voters may also vote early in person at the Recorder’s Office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. through Friday.

Those who had intended to vote at a polling location but have since learned of a conflict may vote in person at the Recorder’s Office 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday.

Voting at the polls

Yuma County uses vote centers

now instead of specific polling sites, meaning registered city voters may cast their ballot at any one of the three vote centers instead of just one assigned location. Voters can choose to vote at the most convenient of the three locations on Tuesday.

The locations where city residents may vote are as follows:

-- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Neighborhood Center, 300 S. 13th Ave.

-- Yuma Civic Center, 1440 W. Desert Hills Drive.

-- Community Christian Church, 6480 E. Highway 95

Those voting at the polls are reminded there is a 75-foot boundary marked by signs outside of polling places. This boundary prohibits anyone from campaigning within the 75-foot marked-off area.

Those who plan to vote at

the polls will need to bring photo ID containing a photograph, name and address of the voter. Valid forms of photo ID include: valid Arizona driver’s license; valid Arizona non-operating identification card; tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification; and U.S. federal, state or local government-issued identification.

For those who do not have a photo ID, several other forms of non-picture identification will be accepted, of which two are required. Examples of these include utility bill dated within 90 days of the election; bank or credit union statement dated within 90 days of the election; valid Arizona vehicle registration or vehicle insurance card; Indian census card, tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification; property tax statement; Recorder’s certificate or voter registration

card; U.S. federal, state or local government-issued identification; and any other official election material mailing bearing the voter’s name and address.

Photo ID with a nonmatching address may require a second form of identification, such as any of those previously listed.

Only registered voters residing in the Yuma city limits may participate in this election. If a resident would like to check the status of their registration online, they may type in their address where prompted on the Arizona Secretary of State’s “Voter View” page, https://voter.azsos.gov/VoterView/Home.do.

They may also call the County Recorder’s Office with any voter-related questions at (928) 373-6034.

What’s at stake

Voters will elect three at-large seats on the city council from among the top

six who advanced following the Aug. 29 primary election.

Mayor Douglas Nicholls and Presiding Judge James Coil were both re-elected to four-year terms as a result of the primary election, having each exceeded 50 percent of the vote.

Although elections are run by Yuma County, as this election is for the city only, the city will release the results. By state law, the earliest any election results may be released is one hour after the polls close, or 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Based on recent city election history, final results will not be available until all “late early” ballots are processed and the period for resolution of any conditional provisional ballots has passed, which could be the end of the week.

Candidates should remove their signs within 15 days after the election.