Local voters may be mailing back early ballots more quickly than ever.
The Pima County Recorder’s office already has received about 20 percent of the mail-in ballots it sent to voters, after three days of collecting them.
It’s a very high number of early ballots for this point in the election cycle, and voter turnout is expected to be high, said Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez.
The Pima County Elections Department will begin processing the ballots next week and will begin counting them Nov. 1, said elections director Brad Nelson.
With the excitement around the presidential election, “pent-up frustration” among voters is “driving people to want to do something now,” said Jo Holt, chair of the Pima County Democratic Party.
“The momentum is there,” she said. “They’re voting and they want to get their ballots in.”
Bill Beard, chair of the Pima County Republican Party, said the percentage of votes coming from mail-in ballots has been on the rise for several election cycles and the percentage of early votes this year is on trend.
“The enthusiasm level on the Republican side is a lot higher than it was four or eight years ago,” so some people are eager to vote. Plus, “there’s a huge chunk of folks that just want it to be over,” Beard said.
As a bonus, once a voter has returned his or her early ballot, the party stops making phone calls to remind them to vote, Beard said.
Here are some tips for voting early using a mail-in ballot.
• Mail your ballot by Thursday, Nov. 3, to make sure it’s received in time to be counted.
• It’s not too late to request a mail-in ballot. The last day to get one is Friday, Oct. 28. Call 724-4330 for information.
• The ballot is double sided, so don’t forget to vote both sides, and don’t use a Sharpie marker or other pen that could bleed through the paper. Rodriguez recommends a ballpoint pen.
• Once you’ve filled out the ballot, put it inside the white envelope. Don’t forget to sign the affidavit on the white envelope. Then put the white envelope inside the yellow envelope and mail it.
• Don’t change your mind about early voting. If you don’t meet the mail-in deadline, you can drop your ballot off at a polling place. But requesting another ballot at a polling place means you’ll get a provisional ballot and it slows down the process, Rodriguez said.
• You can make sure your ballot was received by visiting recorder.pima.gov. If there’s a problem with your signature, the Recorder’s office may call, email, text or send you a letter.
• You can also vote early in person at several polling places open now. Find a list of locations at recorder.pima.gov/EarlyBallotSites.
• The Star’s voter guide and other voter resources are at Tucson.com/vote.
