Deadline to register for Tucson city election is Monday

The voter registration deadline for the Nov. 2 general election is fast approaching for Tucson residents, who must sign up by Monday, Oct. 4, if they want to be able to vote.

Two propositions will be on the ballot — the adoption of a $15 minimum wage in Tucson (Prop. 206), as well as salary increases for the mayor and City Council members (Prop. 410) — and voters citywide will choose City Council representatives in Wards 3, 5 and 6.

Tucsonans can check their registration status and sign up to vote on the Pima County Recorder’s website. Physical registration forms, which are available at dozens of locations across the city, can also be sent to the Recorder’s Office as long as they are postmarked by the Oct. 4 deadline.

But residents shouldn’t wait until the last minute, county staffers said.

“It’s important for people to register to vote as soon as possible to ensure that there are no issues with their voter registration,” said County Recorder staff member Maria Johnson in an email to the Star.

Registration problems, such as post office delays, can affect when voters receive their mail-in ballot. Submitting the form earlier leaves more time to resolve those issues before next Wednesday, when officials will start sending ballots to every eligible voter in the city.

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The rules for submitting mail-in ballots are also more time-sensitive than they are for voter registration forms: The City Clerk’s Office must receive the ballot by 7 p.m. Election Day for the vote to count, regardless of when it was postmarked.

Voters who choose to vote-by-mail need to send their ballot by Oct. 27 to ensure it arrives before the 7 p.m. cutoff. Those who can’t make that deadline should instead drop it off at any one of the city’s six regular voting locations or at the Pima County Recorder’s Office on Election Day.

“If voters do not mail in their ballots by Oct. 27 it may not make it to the City Clerk’s office in time,” Johnson wrote in her email. “Their vote will still be counted if they drop it off in-person before 7 p.m. on Election Day, so it’s very important voters drop off their ballot in-person if they miss the deadline to mail it back.”

Mail-in ballots can also be cast in-person at the Tucson City Clerk Elections Center, 800 E. 12th St., starting Oct. 11.