Major change coming for voters to stay on Arizona's automatic mail-ballot list

For Tucson voters who rely on a ballot arriving automatically in the mail, a major change is set to begin next year. Arizona county recorders will for the first time remove some voters from the state’s automatic early voting list if they do not use a mailed ballot during two consecutive election cycles. The change will not cancel anyone’s voter registration or take away the right to vote, but it could mean that a ballot no longer arrives automatically before future elections.

The removals will be carried out under Senate Bill 1485, a 2021 law signed by former Gov. Doug Ducey. The law changed Arizona’s Permanent Early Voting List, known as PEVL, to the Active Early Voting List, or AEVL. Under the new system, voters can be removed if they do not cast a mailed ballot in federal, state or certain municipal elections over two successive cycles, a period covering four years. A voter who did not use a mailed ballot in 2023, 2024 or 2025 could be at risk of removal if they also do not use one this year, even if they voted in person during one or more of those elections.

Using a mail ballot this November would restart the clock. Voters do not necessarily have to mail the ballot. They can return it at an official drop box or deliver it to a voting location, according to Arizona election guidance. Voters may also vote in person after receiving a mail ballot, but doing so does not count as using the mailed ballot for purposes of remaining on the AEVL. A voter who is removed can still request a one time mail ballot for an election or ask to be added back to the automatic list.

Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly said the distinction between registration and the early voting list may be difficult to explain. Some voters hear the word removal and fear that their names are being purged from the voter rolls, even though the law addresses only automatic mail ballot delivery. County officials must notify potentially affected voters in odd numbered years. For the first removals, the notice must be sent by Jan. 15, 2027. Voters will then have 90 days to respond in writing if they want to remain on the list, using a form that includes their address and date of birth.

The required notice will be sent by letter. County officials may also contact voters by phone, text message or email, but those methods are optional. Cázares-Kelly said her office was concentrating on the upcoming election and had not decided whether it would use additional individual outreach. She said staff members were preparing plain language information for next year. The recorder also said she opposed the law when it moved through the Legislature, though she wants to see how many Pima County voters are affected and what the financial consequences will be before assessing its practical impact.

No statewide estimate is available yet. The Secretary of State’s Office is working with INEXL Consulting, the company that developed Arizona’s voter registration database, on software that could identify voters who meet the removal criteria. Officials do not expect that work to produce a complete list before the general election. A 2022 Brennan Center for Justice study estimated that about 340,000 Arizona voters could have been removed if the law had been applied at that time. That represented about 12 percent of the people on the early voting list in 2021, with nonwhite voters facing a higher risk of removal.

Arizona has maintained a standing mail voting list since 2007. Under the previous system, voters generally remained on it unless they asked to be removed or election officials learned that they had moved, died, become inactive or had their registration canceled. State and county officials already use information from the U.S. Postal Service, the Arizona Department of Health Services and other agencies to update voter records. Republicans who backed the 2021 law argued that it would reduce ballots sent to people who had moved, died or no longer wanted them, and Ducey described it as an election integrity measure. Democrats called it voter suppression.

The change matters especially in Arizona because mail voting is widely used. Voting researchers warn that some people may not notice a removal until a ballot fails to arrive, while others may not realize the change at all. Research on a 2021 Texas voting law found that stricter mail ballot procedures altered voting patterns and led many voters not to reapply for mailed ballots. Brennan Center researcher Kevin Morris said Arizona could experience a larger effect because its mail voting population is substantially bigger than in states where only a small share of voters vote by mail. If voters who expect ballots instead arrive at vote centers, officials could face longer lines, shortages of voting materials and additional pressure on election infrastructure.

Arizona voters have several ways to check their status before the change takes effect. Registration and party information can be reviewed through My.Arizona.Vote. Voters who are not on the AEVL can request a ballot for a particular election through their county recorder. All voters can vote in person, including those who received a mail ballot, and election workers will void the mailed ballot before issuing a replacement. Pima County voters can track ballots through the county recorder’s website. The Secretary of State’s Office also provides county election contact information and can be reached at 1 877 THE VOTE or 602 542 8683.

A separate federal dispute could add another layer of uncertainty for Arizona’s mail voting system. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and attorneys general from 23 other states, including Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, sued to block a U.S. Postal Service rule connected to President Donald Trump’s elections executive order. The lawsuit challenges requirements that states enroll mail voters with the Postal Service, use redesigned ballot envelopes and comply with new barcode specifications. The coalition says the Postal Service lacks authority to reject ballot mail or impose those requirements. The case follows a Supreme Court stay allowing parts of the executive order to proceed while the rule was finalized. Whatever happens in that case, Tucson voters face a more immediate task: watch for official notices, verify their AEVL status and use or renew their mail voting status before an expected ballot stops arriving automatically.