A county commission asked to look into voter confusion after the March 22 presidential preference election reported on June 10 that it does not βbelieve there were intentional or inadvertent modification of any voter registration databases.β
However, the Election Integrity Commission also found that there βdefinitely were cases where voters were surprised to find they had to vote provisionally.β
A recorderβs office official who reviewed affiliation change cases told the commission that they stemmed from βhuman error either by the voter or by the (Motor Vehicle Department),β according to the report.
βIt was very clear to us that the MVD form was confusing,β the report reads, referring to paperwork that requests customersβ party affiliation.
Some of those who found out they were ineligible to vote in the preference election, in which only registered members are able to vote in their partyβs election, said the change came after visits to the MVD for new licenses and other matters, not to change party affiliation.
A secretary of state spokesman previously told the Star that if someone doesnβt select a party preference in MVD forms, βthey are assumed as a PND,β or βparty not designated,β meaning they could not vote in a presidential preference election.
A spokesman with the Arizona Department of Transportation, which oversees MVD offices, later told the Star that his agency βdoes not designate customers as βPNDβ β¦ unless that is what the customer inputs. ADOT does not register voters or change party preference β ADOT only conveys customer information, at their request, to the secretary of state.β
EIC Chairman Tom Ryan said it was his understanding that the MVD was modifying its forms in response to complaints, adding that he had recently gone to the MVD and found himself a little confused.
βYou go through the form, and if youβre already registered to vote and you want to leave it just the way it is, it doesnβt really give you an option for that,β he said.
After reaching out to both the county Republican and Democratic parties, the commission was told that the problem with voters having their affiliations inadvertently changed was not βextensive.β
In the short report, the EIC states that it βwas unable to do extensive research on the topic.β Ryan said this is because the commission is an βall-volunteer organization with no resources.β
The secretary of stateβs office was also looking into the party affiliation issue after the March 22 vote, but a spokesman did not immediately return a question for comment on where that investigation stood.
