Early primary voting in Arizona kicks off Thursday

PHOENIX — The time has come to pick who you want in the primaries to lead Arizona for the next four years.

Ballots went out Thursday, marking the official start of early voting for statewide races including governor, Congress, secretary of state, attorney general and Arizona house and senate races. Local races are also on the ballot for mayor and council seats.

Linda Weedon with Maricopa County Elections office said more than 862,000 voters opted for mail-in ballots, but only 29 percent are expected to actually take the time to cast a vote this year.

“In Maricopa County, about 65 percent of the county is registered Republican,” Weedon said. “Although, we have more people from all of the parties who are changing to Independent registration.”

Polling data is showing a lot of registered voters have still not made up their minds.

“At least as far as the six candidates for governor, they are still sitting on the fence,” added Weedon.

If you have not registered to vote, there’s still time to do so for the general election in November.

“If you are on the voter file here in Maricopa County, and you just moved, and you only need to update your address, you can still do that and vote in the election,” said Weedon.

Independents who do not received a mail-in ballot by next week, can contact the Maricopa County Elections Office to request a ballot. Residents can also contact the office to determine the legality of their vote.

The last day to request an early ballot for the primaries by mail is Aug. 15. Ballots can still be cast the old-fashioned way in person at any designated voting site Aug. 26.

To see a complete listing of candidates running for office in the general election, visit the Arizona Department of State Office of the Secretary of State.