Arizona has a wrinkle for indie primary voters

[kristopher]

Last edited Mon Mar 14, 2016, 08:40 PM - Edit history (1)

My daughter was home over the weekend from Arizona. She's registered independent and has decided she wants to vote for Bernie so while she was just home for an all-too-brief visit we went to the Az website to see what hoops she needed to jump through. At first blush it seemed easy and accommodating. The info is below.

I moved recently, when is the deadline to update my voter registration?

The final day to update your voter registration or register to vote is midnight on the 29th day before the election. For the 2016 Primary Election that day is Midnight on August 1, 2016 and for the 2016 General Election you must register before Midnight on October 10, 2016. All voter registration forms that are mailed in must be postmarked on or before the deadline.

How does an independent voter receive a ballot for the Primary Election?
An independent voter on the early voter list will receive a post card in the mail asking for the voter to choose which party ballot the voter wishes to receive for the Primary Election. If the independent voter goes to the polls on Election Day the voter will be given the option to choose a party ballot at that time.

http://www.azsos.gov/elections

We didn't immediately note the date but before leaving the page it sank in that there was something odd. A primary on August 30th? How could that be, we wondered?

Not finding any ready explanation, we eventually opened the calendar. Bold font added.

Elections Calendar

Thu, September 24, 2015
First day to file Presidential Preference - New Party Petitions
Sat, October 24, 2015
Last day to file Presidential Preference - New Party Petitions
Fri, November 13, 2015
First day to file as a Presidential Preference Candidate
Fri, December 4, 2015
Last day to file arguments for or against ballot measures (Special Election)
Mon, December 14, 2015
Last day to file as a Presidential Preference Candidate
Mon, February 22, 2016
Voter registration deadline for Presidential Preference Election
Wed, February 24, 2016
Early Voting begins for Presidential Preference Election
Thu, March 3, 2016
Last day to file General Election - New Party Petitions
Tue, March 22, 2016
Presidential Preference Election
Mon, April 18, 2016
Last day to register for the Special Election
Wed, April 20, 2016
Early Voting begins for Special Election
Mon, May 2, 2016
First day to file candidate nomination petitions
Tue, May 17, 2016
Special Election
Wed, June 1, 2016
Last day to file candidate nomination petitions
Thu, July 7, 2016
Last day to file constitution & initiative petitions
Wed, July 13, 2016
Last day to file arguments for or against ballot measures (General Election)
Thu, July 21, 2016
Last day to file as a write-in candidate for the Primary Election
Mon, August 1, 2016
Voter registration deadline for Primary Election
Wed, August 3, 2016
Early Voting begins for Primary Election
Tue, August 30, 2016
Primary Election
Thu, September 29, 2016
Last day to file as a write-in candidate for the General Election
Mon, October 10, 2016
Voter registration deadline for General Election
Wed, October 12, 2016
Early Voting begins for General Election
Tue, November 8, 2016
General Election

Presidential preference election??

Bottom line, the "Primary" is for local elections and you can vote as an independent; the "Presidential Preference" election is to select the presidential candidate of the parties and you cannot vote unless you were registered for the party you want by Feb. 24th.

She was very disappointed. On the plus side, if Bernie is the nominee, she intends to permanently register as a Dem.

[Zorra]

1. No. The Arizona Presidential Preference Election is on **TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2016**

You emboldened the wrong date in your OP. Please correct it. Sorry your daughter missed the registration deadline, Bernie supporters in AZ tried to reach everyone we could in order to get them registered on time.

2016 Election Information

Presidential Preference Election - March 22, 2016

http://www.azsos.gov/elections/voting-election/election-information#ppe

Voter registration spikes ahead of Arizona presidential preference election

PHOENIX — Voter registration numbers have been finalized ahead of Arizona’s presidential preference election.

Since Jan. 12, Democratic enrollment has increased by 30,623 voters, while state Republicans have grown by 22,085 voters. In total, 11,079 registered independent voters have either registered with another party or removed their affiliation.

http://ktar.com/story/931763/voter-registration-numbers-spike-ahead-of-arizona-presidential-primary/

Here is one of our notices about the PPE from last August

http://www.democraticunderground.com/128050397

[kgnu_fan]

2. important!

[kristopher]

3. Done. Thanks for the heads up.

[Zorra]

4. Thank you!

[kristopher]

5. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Keep us posted on MARCH 22nd's presidential preference poll.