Roughly 140,000 Maricopa County voters have not received ID cards, potentially leaving eligible voters in Tuesday’s special congressional election unaware that they can cast a ballot. County election officials said they haven’t sent cards out since December, blaming a printing delay. The 8th Congressional District special election to replace ousted Republican U.S. Rep. Trent Franks in the West Valley is being watched nationally as a possible bellwether for the fall midterm elections.
The voter ID card backlog does not prevent any registered voter from participating. Voter registrations are activated no matter when ID cards are sent out. And there are other ways for voters to provide identification on Election Day.
But some voters may not believe they are registered if they haven’t received an official card, worried Mesa Democrat Larry Smith, 66.
“It’s another black eye for this Recorder’s Office,” said Smith, who alerted The Arizona Republic that he hadn’t received a card since updating his registration in January. “You’ve got people registering to vote, some of them for the first time in their lives. It’s the duty of the Recorder to send them a voter ID card.”
Full Article: 140,000 Maricopa County voters haven’t received registration cards.