Arizona Supreme Court Says Pinal County Voters Must Cast Ballot at Correct Precinct

Yellow sign with VOTE HERE/AQUI is standing by a line of people waiting to get to the polls in Arizona. (Adobe Stock)

On Friday, the Arizona Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling prohibiting out-of-precinct voters in Pinal County from casting ballots. Pinal County voters must go to the correct precinct this November to vote. 

In her opinion, Justice Ann Timmer agreed with the Pinal County Superior Court’s decision that at this late stage in the election, with early voting already underway, it would be “impracticable, if not imprudent” to order Pinal County to allow out-of-precinct voters.

Friday’s decision is the newest — and final — development in Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’s (D) attempt to force Pinal County to allow out-of-precinct voting for the 2024 election. 

Pinal County officials had refused to program certain voting machines with the ballot styles for every precinct in the county, as required by the Election Procedures Manual (EPM). Fontes sued the county on Sept. 27, asking a court to order them to adopt the EPM’s Out of Precinct provision. Pinal County Superior Court Judge Delia Neal ruled Oct. 4 that while Pinal County was in the wrong for failing to comply with the EPM, it was too close to the election to order a change.

On Oct. 7, Fontes appealed the decision to the Arizona Court of Appeals. After a motion to expedite the matter was denied, Fontes transferred the appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court. On Oct. 25, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld Neal’s decision.

Voters in Pinal County can find their polling place here

Read the order here

Last update, Oct. 7

Voters who go to the wrong precinct in Pinal County, Arizona will not be able to cast a ballot this November.

Pinal County Superior Court Judge Delia Neal ruled in favor of Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) on Friday, writing that Arizona counties must follow the Elections Procedures Manual (EPM), which outlines how elections should be run across the state. Pinal County had refused to implement a provision that allows voters who go to the wrong precinct to cast a correct ballot, in violation of the EPM. However, given the closeness of the election, Neal did not order the county to implement the Out of Precinct (OOP) provision. 

On Sept. 27, Pinal County election officials sent a letter to Fontes stating their intention not to implement the OOP provision. The provision requires counties to let voters who go to the wrong precinct use a voting device programmed with the ballot styles for every precinct in the county. Officials argued that implementing the OOP provision would turn Pinal from a precinct-based county into a “voting centers” county, where people can vote at any center regardless of precinct. The state allows counties to choose which type of polling place to use, and Pinal County had opted for a precinct-based system.

Fontes subsequently filed an emergency lawsuit asking the court to order Pinal County to enforce the OOP provision. He asked the court to rule in time for his office to perform voting machine tests before early voting begins on Oct. 9. While the judge agreed with Fontes, she decided not to order the county to make the changes so near the election. 

Pinal County will be the only county in Arizona to not allow voters who show up at the wrong precinct to cast their ballot for the correct precinct. 

Arizona voters can find their polling place here.

Learn more about the case here.