The Pima County Recorder’s Office unexpectedly closed down its online early-ballot request portal before the deadline, now those still caught in the blunder will have to wait until Election Day to vote.
On Oct. 19, six days before the Oct. 25 deadline to request an early ballot, the recorder’s office decided to close the online form despite thousands of unfilled requests still awaiting processing. It blamed the closure on an “overwhelming number” of ballot requests.
The department said about 4,000 voters were affected and had been encouraged to contact the office to resolve their requests. But not all were able to do so.
“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 statement Friday.
But Friday, Nov. 1 is the last early voting day, leaving an emergency voting site or Election Day vote center as the only options. See locations and hours for early voting sites and emergency voting sites. Election Day voting sites are listed here.
Voters should bring an appropriate form of identification, options are listed here.
Ted Downing, a former state legislator and University of Arizona professor, was one of the voters caught up in the portal issue.
“Pima County is the bread basket of Democratic votes,” Downing told KVOA News4 Tucson. “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.”
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.
“The Pima County Recorder’s Office recognizes the burden and disappointment this may have caused during a stressful election cycle,” the department said in its statement.
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