Pima County Supervisor Steve Christy has requested an independent investigation into the county recorder office’s unexpected closing of the early-ballot request portal in October ahead of the general election.
The item is on the agenda for discussion at the next board of supervisors meeting on Nov. 19.
The blunder affected about 4,000 voters when the recorder’s office closed the portal request system six days before the originally published deadline of Oct. 25 despite thousands of unfilled requests awaiting processing. Voters’ standing online submissions were canceled and they were asked to re-request their ballots by contacting the office directly. It remains unknown how many additional voters were inconvenienced when they went to the website seeking an early ballot and found the site inaccessible.
Voters were still able to vote early in person or on Election Day.
District 4 Supervisor Christy asked for the “Arizona Attorney General and/or the office of a non-conflicted County Attorney” to independently investigate “actions taken by Pima County Recorder Cázares-Kelly with respect to Early Voting in the 2024 General Election, including but not limited to, the circumstances that led to the cancelation of voters’ accepted online Ballot by Mail requests, in apparent violation of A.R.S. § 16-542.”
The recorder’s office and Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly, a Democrat, did not immediately respond to Arizona Luminaria’s request for comment.
Christy is the only Republican on the board of supervisors and is currently winning his race for reelection by 5,560 votes, according to unofficial results Friday.
On Oct. 19 the recorder’s office closed the online form, blaming the action on an “overwhelming number” of ballot requests.
“Voters who were unable to contact the office or who have not yet received a ballot are still eligible to vote in-person at an Early Voting or Emergency Voting site, or an Election Day Vote Center,” the office said in a Nov. 1 statement.
While the recorder’s office encouraged affected voters to contact the office to complete the process, not all were able to do so.
Ted Downing, a former state legislator and University of Arizona professor, was one of the affected voters. While in the Legislature, the former Democratic lawmaker was the founding chair of the Democratic Election Integrity Committee before becoming an independent.
“Pima County is the bread basket of Democratic votes,” Downing told KVOA News4 Tucson on Oct. 30. “If the turnout in Pima County is subpar as a result of this glitch, the recorder can share credit for the loss. If Harris wins, the Republicans can point out these irregularities. Either way we lose. This should not happen.”
“This is why excellence is so important,” he added. “I don’t care what your party, be good. I don’t think Arizona wants to be known as the Boeing of election integrity.”
The recorder’s office said it is already working on a solution to avoid a repeat of the situation. Earlier in October, the office also had delay issues in mailing out about 270,000 early ballots.
Cázares-Kelly is a local political leader who garnered national attention after making history in 2020 by becoming the first Indigenous person to hold a countywide seat in Pima County and the third to hold a county-level office in Arizona. She was a delegate at the Democratic National Convention and has championed greater access to voting, especially for historically marginalized communities that have experienced discrimination in voting and election systems.
On Thursday night, she posted a thank you to voters who supported her successful reelection bid. “It’s been a tremendous honor to serve our community. Looking forward to the next 4 years! (After we close the election and maybe get some rest),” Cázares-Kelly posted on X, with a photo of her holding a campaign sticker that read: Indigenous Woman Still Coming Through!
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