Despite rules imposed by Arizona’s Election Procedures Manual, Pinal County voters must be sure to vote at the correct precinct polling place or their ballots will be thrown out.
In December 2023, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes added a provision in the EPM prohibiting counties from disqualifying ballots due to them being filed at the wrong precinct, requiring that counties who assign voters to a specific polling place allow voters to cast a ballot even if they show up at the wrong location. Prior to this year, counties that use designated polling locations would throw out ballots that were filed at the wrong precinct.
However, Pinal County has said, “no.” Despite this rule being created in December 2023, Pinal County has maintained their precinct assigned voting throughout both the presidential preference and primary elections.
Should a voter attempt to vote in a precinct where they're not registered, a poll worker can notify them. The voter can cast a provisional ballot, but it's likely to be discarded if it's not found to have been a mistake.
In September, Fontes filed a complaint to the Pinal County Superior Court, asking the court to order Pinal County Recorder Dana Lewis and the county supervisors to comply with the EPM. The lawsuit further asked for the accessible voting devices in Pinal County to be equipped with the correct ballot style for every precinct in the county so that voters who arrive at the wrong precinct can use the machines to fill out the correct ballot.
The respondents claimed that not only did the lawsuit come too close to election day for them to change their procedures, but the requirement outlined in the EPM contradict with Arizona statute that gives counties the power to decide if they will use precinct-based voting or general voting centers that allow voters to file their ballots anywhere in the county.
