arizona
Pima County’s CD7 Special Election Voting System Set for Major Overhaul
Pima County is set for significant changes ahead of the congressional election to fill the seat of the late Raúl Grijalva, who passed away in March after battling lung cancer. The county’s Recorder, Gabriella Cázares-Kelly, has announced new vote-by-mail envelopes and the introduction of two 24-hour ballot drop boxes for the upcoming July 15 primary in Congressional District 7.
Residents will now have the ability to access their voter records online via the Recorder’s Office voter dashboard. This feature allows voters to track their early ballot requests, verify registration status, and view their voter history. Last year, the office faced challenges with a surge in early ballot requests, resulting in notifications sent to nearly 4,000 voters about discarded requests.
Under the revised system, voters will no longer need to mail their ballots in a signed white envelope and a separate yellow envelope. Instead, they can return their ballots in a single envelope that bears their signature, which election officials will verify against county records. This streamlined approach aims to expedite the election process by reducing the workload for county officials during ballot tabulation.
Previously, over 444,000 early ballots were processed during the 2024 presidential election. The previous two-envelope system, while effective in maintaining signature privacy, delayed the tabulation process significantly. Currently, the single-envelope method has been successfully implemented in several other Arizona counties, such as Maricopa and Yavapai.
Despite the increased visibility of signatures during transit, Cázares-Kelly and spokesperson Mike Truelsen express confidence in the U.S. Postal Service’s handling of ballots. Voter privacy will still be upheld, as voters’ choices remain concealed within the envelope.
For those hesitant to mail their ballots, multiple early-voting locations and the newly installed drop boxes offer secure alternatives. These drop boxes, equipped with fire-suppression systems and monitored by cameras, will be available at the Recorder’s Downtown branch and another East Side location. Plans to expand the number of drop boxes for future elections are also in the works.
