May 01, 2022
Maricopa County Officials Approve 2022 Elections Plan
Maricopa County is expanding voting access for the 2022 Primary and General Elections, while continuing to focus on security and transparency.
The plan — developed under the leadership of Scott Jarrett and Rey Valenzuela, co-directors of the Elections Department — will inform Maricopa County voters and other stakeholders about key information and activities, so that they are prepared to participate in the election.
"Running safe, secure, transparent elections in 2022 is my #1 priority as Chairman. This plan provides a framework for doing that, which the public can read in its entirety right now, months ahead of the August Primary and November General elections," said Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates, District 3. "With our experienced, dedicated staff, and strong oversight from the Board and Recorder, I am confident that we will continue to set the standard for how to administer elections that serve all eligible voters in our county."
Voters will continue to have several options to participate in the Primary and General elections including a robust voting by mail option, secure drop boxes and Vote Centers open early and on Election Day.
“I am grateful and proud of the team in the Recorder’s Office and Elections Department for their steadfast dedication in planning for the 2022 Primary and General elections with thoroughness and competency,” said Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. “I encourage the public to read this plan and make sure they are prepared for how they choose to participate in Maricopa County elections this year.”
Locations.Maricopa.Vote
Maricopa County will offer a "vote anywhere" election model to provide voters with increased access and reliability. Voters can choose from a variety of locations, days, and hours that are convenient for them to vote in person or drop off an early ballot.
The County will provide 210-225 Vote Centers. Locations will be phased in, opening at 27-days, 12-days, 2-days and on Election Day. Vote Centers will be located throughout Maricopa County serving rural communities, Native American tribes, and densely populated areas. On average, Vote Centers are less than two miles apart and are near bus routes and light rail lines.
Voters will continue to be able to view live wait times on our website at Locations.Maricopa.Vote, search for Vote Centers near them, find hours of operation and more.
Request.Maricopa.Vote
Even with the mis-, dis- and mal-information surrounding early voting, more Maricopa County voters than ever are on the Active Early Voting List, with more than 2 million voters signed up. Early ballots will be mailed to these voters on July 6 for the Primary and October 12 for the General.
As an open primary, independent voters or those without a designated party must notify the Elections Department of their ballot choice for the Primary Election, even if they are on the Active Early Voting List. These voters may select a Republican, Democratic, or a non-partisan ballot (only if the voter’s city or town has candidates or contests on the ballot). Independent voters may make these requests on our website at BeBallotReady.Vote.
Voters who are temporarily out of town for the election can also make a request online, as official ballots and election mail cannot be forwarded.
Voters who want to track their ballots can do so at BeBallotReady.Vote or text ‘Join’ to 628-683.
GetInvolved.Maricopa.Vote
The Elections Department’s partnership with the Maricopa County community is vital to our success in facilitating elections. Maricopa County is looking to hire 2,600 poll workers, 750 truck drivers, central board workers and other temporary employees to support each election.
Recruiting these critical temporary staff will provide new challenges including record low unemployment and increasing inflation levels not seen in decades. The polarization of elections may also pose as a hiring challenge as the County works to ensure bipartisan representation in every aspect the election.
The County is overcoming some of these challenges by providing incentive pay, hiring professional trainers, requiring inspectors take premium training, offering hybrid training solutions and more.
Those looking to support elections can submit their interest at GetInvolved.Maricopa.Vote.
Results.Maricopa.Vote
All early and provisional ballots will be counted at the Elections Department, while Election Day ballots are counted on precinct-based tabulators inside the Vote Center.
Results will be posted at 8 p.m. on Election Day at Results.Maricopa.Vote. The first posting of results will be all the early ballots counted to that point. Throughout Election night, we plan to post results from the Election Day Vote Centers.
Based on our turnout forecasts, we anticipate 10-17% of voters will cast a ballot on Election Day. For the August Primary Election this could be as high as 178,000 ballots, while Election Day ballots could exceed 320,000 in the November General Election.
In addition, we are expecting up to 155,000 early ballots to be dropped off on Election Day. Given the time it takes to signature verify and process these ballots, as well as counting write-in contests, vetting provisional ballots and curing questionable signatures, we expect to count ballots and report daily updates until August 9 for the Primary Election and November 17 for the General Election.
BeBallotReady.Vote
Using historic models and turnout projections, the county is prepared for an estimated 748,000-961,000 voters to cast a ballot in the Primary Election and 1.4-1.9 million voters in the General Election.
The Elections Department will focus on educating voters, building trust in election administration and voting processes. BeBallotReady.Vote provides voters with personalized election information, request an early ballot, find a voting location and more. Voters can find facts and myth busters at JustTheFacts.Vote.