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Pinal County Ballot Rejection Looms Following Arizona Supreme Court Ruling

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Pinal County rejected ballots likely, under Arizona Supreme Court ruling

Pinal County voters will face challenges on Election Day due to a recent ruling by the Arizona Supreme Court. The court’s emergency decision, issued Friday, concluded that the county will not be required to implement a state rule mandating that voters be permitted to cast the correct ballot, even if they show up at the wrong polling location.

This ruling comes as Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ new requirement, introduced in December 2023, seeks to enhance voter access by allowing voters to cast the correct ballot at any polling place. Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer articulated concerns that enforcing this rule so close to Election Day could lead to “unacceptable risk of chaos, uncertainty, and confusion.”

With early voting already underway, Pinal County will continue to instruct voters to either locate their designated polling place or submit a provisional ballot, which is likely to be rejected under existing laws that invalidate ballots not cast in a voter’s precinct.

This ruling places Pinal County voters at a disadvantage compared to their counterparts in other Arizona counties, where officials are either complying with the new rule or using a voting model that permits voters to access their ballots at any location within the county.

Based on historical data, it’s anticipated that several hundred Pinal County voters may find themselves at the wrong polling location on November 5, resulting in rejected ballots. In past elections, this has affected 274 voters in November 2020 and 235 in November 2022.

During court proceedings, both parties scrutinized each other’s timeliness in responding to the issue. Fontes’ office noted that Pinal County had opportunities to contest the rule after it was established in December 2023, while the Pinal County recorder questioned why the Secretary of State’s office delayed filing its suit despite being aware of the county’s noncompliance.

The Secretary of State’s Office expressed concerns that this uneven treatment of voters could lead to post-election legal disputes. Assistant Attorney General Kara Karlson highlighted the potential ramifications of counting ballots in all counties except Pinal, warning that such discrepancies would severely undermine election integrity.

Fontes’ office filed a lawsuit against Pinal County in late September after it became clear that the county did not intend to comply with the new rule for the upcoming election. Although a trial court acknowledged the validity of the rule, it ruled that enforcing it close to the election would be impractical. This prompted an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court chose not to rule on the potential conflict between the new requirement and state law, prioritizing the timing of the election over other considerations. State law gives counties the discretion to adopt either a precinct model, assigning voters to specific locations, or a vote center model that allows greater flexibility.

Pinal County has resisted transitioning to the vote center model, citing concerns regarding voter roll connectivity and logistical challenges. The new rule would require the county to equip its accessible voting devices, which cater to disabled voters, with all ballot styles—an action deemed burdensome under the current circumstances.

Pinal County Recorder Dana Lewis expressed to the court the logistical hurdles posed by the order, indicating the extensive time needed to reconfigure accessible devices and retrain poll workers. With less than a month until the election, the county faces significant challenges in implementing these changes, as they would have to divert resources from other critical election preparations.

As it stands, Apache County remains the only other county in Arizona adhering to a precinct model while reportedly complying with the new state rule, highlighting a notable divergence in voting procedures across the state.