Dead Voters’ Ballots: A Legal Quagmire Surfaces

As election night approaches, ballot counts will include votes from individuals who may no longer be alive. This occurrence is legally sanctioned under Arizona law.

When a voter casts an early ballot and subsequently passes away before Election Day, that vote remains counted. According to Aaron Thacker, a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office, this is primarily a practical matter: “How would the county recorder know someone died after they mailed their ballot?”

Arizona’s Elections Procedures Manual outlines how counties deal with deceased registrants. The Secretary of State’s Office receives a monthly list of deceased individuals from the Arizona Department of Health Services, which is then compared to the statewide voter registration database.

A “hard match” results in the immediate cancellation of a voter’s registration if the records correspond by first three letters of the name, birth date, and last four digits of the Social Security number. A “soft match,” which includes only names and birth dates, requires further investigation.

County officials may also cross-reference obituaries and other records, as noted by Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cazares-Kelly. “We check to see if the deceased person was a registered voter and will begin the cancellation process,” she explained.

Yet, the ongoing updates to voter registration lists may still lead to early ballots being counted from individuals who have passed away. The crucial factor is the timing of when the vote was cast.

Taylor Kinnerup from the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office emphasized that a vote is considered cast once it’s mailed or deposited in a drop box, regardless of the voter’s status at the time of counting. This is stipulated in the Elections Procedures Manual, which states, “A registrant who passes away after casting a valid ballot is entitled to have their ballot tabulated and votes counted.”

The definition of “cast” includes visiting early voting locations or mailing in a ballot, but does not extend to cases where a ballot is simply filled out and sent after the voter’s death.

Challenges arise when determining the specific timing of deaths and ballot submissions. Cazares-Kelly cited an example: “Let’s say that they passed away on October 17, and October 18 we received their ballot. That’s within the timeframe that it would be plausible someone voted and then died.”

However, if election officials learn that a ballot came from someone who had already died, revoking that vote is virtually impossible due to how ballots are processed. After verification, ballots become anonymous, making it impossible to link them back to the original voter.

Despite this, Cazares-Kelly cautioned against family members sending in ballots for deceased relatives, highlighting potential legal repercussions if investigators determine a ballot was accepted from someone who could not have legally voted.

Arizona’s election protocols regarding deceased voters are not unique. For instance, if someone casts a ballot one day and is later disqualified due to a felony conviction, that ballot is counted if the offense occurred after the vote was cast.

Statistics from the Arizona health department show over 11,000 deaths in October 2022, coinciding with the last statewide race. While the majority of those were of voting age, Cazares-Kelly believes the number of ballots cast by deceased individuals in her county is closer to “probably in the teens.” Meanwhile, Maricopa County estimates the figure to be in the low dozens.