Pinal County Ballots Face Rejection After Arizona Supreme Court Decision

Pinal County voters will face a significant hurdle on Election Day, as the Arizona Supreme Court ruled they cannot cast their correct ballots if they appear at the wrong polling site. This decision comes in light of a newly established state rule set forth by Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, which mandated that counties allow voters to cast their appropriate ballot at any polling location.

In an emergency ruling issued on Friday, the Supreme Court emphasized that it was too late for the county to implement the rule without introducing chaos and uncertainty into the electoral process. Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer noted that early voting has already begun, making the timing of enforced compliance impractical.

As it stands, Pinal County will adhere to its existing practice of instructing voters to go to the correct polling location or cast a provisional ballot. Unfortunately, state law dictates that these provisional ballots are likely to be discarded if cast outside the voter’s assigned precinct.

This ruling raises concerns for Pinal County voters, who will not have access to the same voting options available in other counties. Unlike Pinal, many counties have adopted a model allowing voters to receive the correct ballot regardless of their assigned polling site. Historical data suggests that hundreds of voters in Pinal County are expected to inadvertently vote at incorrect locations, resulting in ballot rejections, as observed in past elections.

The dispute over compliance with the new rule has led to questions from both the Secretary of State’s office and Pinal County officials about why legal challenges were not raised sooner. Fontes’ office suggested that Pinal County could have contested the rule once it was issued, while the county argued that Fontes should have acted earlier, given their longstanding noncompliance.

As the situation unfolds, the potential for post-election legal challenges looms, especially considering the disparities in ballot counting across the state. Assistant Attorney General Kara Karlson expressed that unequal treatment of voters, resulting from this ruling, could lead to significant complications in Arizona elections.

The Secretary of State filed a lawsuit against Pinal County in late September after discovering the county’s intentions. A trial court first acknowledged the rule’s validity but ultimately ruled against enforcing it so close to the election. The Supreme Court prioritized the timing over the content of the law in its decision.

Pinal County’s election procedures are governed by state law, permitting counties to choose between operating under a precinct model or a vote center model. The current ruling has prompted concerns that enforcing compliance would effectively convert the precinct model into a de facto vote center system.

However, Pinal County officials have resisted transitioning to a vote center model, citing fears regarding the security of electronic voter rolls. The newly introduced rule would require precinct counties to prepare accessible voting devices with ballot styles for every precinct, a task that Pinal County Recorder Dana Lewis described as burdensome and time-consuming.

As the clock ticks down to Election Day, the implications of this ruling remain a point of contention that could impact voter access and election integrity in Pinal County.

Jen Fifield is a reporter for Votebeat based in Arizona. Contact Jen at [email protected].

Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization covering local election integrity and voting access.