Contribution from Gila County
GILA COUNTY – Unfounded rumors and speculation have become a post-election tradition and are as unwelcome as abandoned campaign signs on the side of the road.
Fortunately, local election officials at the Gila County Recorder’s Office and the Board of Elections have answers to correct the misinformation that circulated in the first few weeks following the recent primary election.
Election Commissioner Eric Mariscal, along with recently re-elected Gila County Clerk Sadie Bingham, have compiled a dozen false allegations and some questions. Below are the answers to correct the misinformation:
Claim: “The clerk’s office and the election office remained open after 7 p.m. so people could vote and change their ballots.”
INCORRECT: The Recorder’s office was open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day to assist voters and poll workers. At 7 p.m., the office closed to the public, but staff were still at work processing ballots received and provisional ballots delivered from polling places on Election Day.
Election Commissioner Eric Mariscal and his department staff also worked long hours – in their case until after midnight – to publish the election results.
Claim: “All ballots must be counted and counted on election day.”
INCORRECT: Ballots cast on Election Day and provisional ballots cast on Election Day must be verified before they can be counted.
Mail-in ballots cast at polling stations are picked up by the Recorder’s Office on election night. The Recorder’s Office must verify signatures before returning them to the Elections Office for the Election Commission to process. For this reason, not all ballots can be counted on election night. There is also a timetable for ballots that are in the process of being processed.
Claim: “2,700 ballots are still waiting to be counted.”
False: On the Friday before Election Day, approximately 2,700 ballots were submitted in advance (by mail, mailbox, and polling stations).
The Recorder’s Office will only process ballots received during this period after the polls close. This is to ensure that no one votes twice.
The ballots were forwarded to the Election Commission on Wednesday. There were about 50 provisional ballots that were reviewed and forwarded to the Election Commission.
All ballots have been counted.
Claim: “The electoral authority is responsible for all city and municipal elections.”
INCORRECT: Each city and village has its own records manager, they basically use Gila County as their “vendor.”
Claim: “Two cameras in the polling station were turned off on election night.”
INCORRECT: No outages have been reported. The cameras are currently still on and will remain so until the end of the challenge period, which is at least another two weeks.
Claim: “Independents couldn’t vote.”
False: Independents can and have voted, as Gila County Clerk Sadie Bingham has repeatedly stated on social media, radio and and in local newspapers a full month before the primaries.
Independents could choose between Republican, Democratic or non-partisan candidates (AZ. Const. Art. 7 § 10 and ARS 16-544).
Claim: “The reports are not correct – they still show unofficial results.”
INCORRECT: The results are official because the Gila County Board of Supervisors voted on August 9 during a special meeting to review the primary election and, as required by state law, voted unanimously on the election.
Claim: “Early votes do not count and signatures are not verified.”
INCORRECT: All verified ballots are counted. All signatures on the ballots are verified.
Claim: “No ID is required for early voting.”
INCORRECT: If you vote in person early or on Election Day at a polling station/voting center, identification is required.
Claim: “There were 1,000 ballot papers missing.
INCORRECT: There were no missing ballot papers, everything was there.
Ask: “Why do we canvass for votes?”
Answer: Because Arizona state law requires it.
Claim: “The electoral authority must have a court order to recount the votes.”
The latter is correct.
The exact results of the primary election in Gila County are published here: gilacountyaz.gov/government/elections; you can also read a lot more about elections there—everything from campaign finance and candidate registration information to election FAQs, how to sign up to be a poll worker in your town for the November general election (and earn up to $258!); plus initiatives, referendums and recalls—and voter outreach.
Another resource on the county website is gilacountyaz.gov/government/recorder. For accurate information on local, state and national elections, please like and follow facebook.com/gilacountyrecorder.
