TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EARLY VOTING

IN THE STATE of Arizona, voters are fortunate to have several options to exercise their right to vote in every election. Voters can receive a ballot in the mail to vote in the comfort and safety of their home, vote early in person at the County Recorder’s Office the month preceding Election Day, or go to any Vote Center in the county on Election Day to cast their vote.

There are currently 96,122 active registered voters in Yuma County, nearly 53% (50,809) of which received an early ballot by mail for the 2020 Primary Election. Yuma County Voter Services received approximately 26,000 early ballots for the Primary

Election.

Early voting is safe and convenient. Once the early ballots are received by Voter Services, either through the mail or from the secured ballot drop boxes, they are accepted, reviewed and validated before being tabulated. This process includes trained staff verifying that the signature on each affidavit matches the voter’s signed voter registration form and crediting their record for participation in that election.

The Arizona Voter Identification Database (AVID) is the statewide voter registration system that tracks all election-related activity for each voter. AVID guarantees there is only one voted ballot counted for each registered voter.

If there is a problem with an early ballot, such as a missing signature or the signature not matching the voter’s record,

BIZ | September-October 2020

Voter Services reaches out to that voter via telephone and mail to allow them to remedy the issue so their vote will be counted.

Election Services secures the validated ballots in their vault until tabulation begins no earlier than 14 days prior to Election Day. This is the point where the Early Board gets involved. Each Early Board is comprised of an Inspector and two board workers, with one of the board workers of the opposite political party as the Inspector.

Early Board checks that each early ballot affidavit in the batch they receive matches the batch report from Voter Services and verifies the ballot is for the correct election, party and precinct for that registered voter. The voter’s selections remain confidential.

Election Services staff tabulates early ballots by scanning them into the DS450 HighThroughput Scanner and Tabulator, which counts over 70 ballots per minute. The tabulation equipment is certified for accuracy by the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office immediately before each election.

Each step of processing early ballots is documented and audited to ensure all ballots are accounted for.

The results from all processed early ballots are reported in the first release of results at 8 p.m. on Election Day. The

sooner early ballots are returned to Voter Services, the faster final election results are available. The early ballots dropped off at Vote Centers on Election Day still must be processed following the same process as early ballots returned to Voter Services prior to Election Day, delaying final election results.

Early voting, either by mail or early in person, is the safest option due to the continued prevalence of COVID19 in our community. Regardless of the many precautions implemented at the Vote Centers, including mandatory face coverings, social distancing and sanitizing stations, there is still an increased risk of exposure to illness in larger groups of people.

Election officials urge voters to consider voting early for the Presidential Election on Tuesday, Nov. 3rd, 2020.

The last day to register to vote for the Presidential Election is Monday, Oct. 5th, 2020. Individuals can register to vote at ServiceArizona.com or by submitting a signed voter registration form to Yuma County Voter Services at 197 S. Main St. For more information, call Voter Services at (928) 373-6034.