Getting on the voter roll
Arizona needs your name, address, date of birth, signature and driver’s license number if you have one, or the last four digits of your Social Security number if you don’t. Without those, you’ll have to show more ID to vote.
You’ll have to swear under penalty of perjury that you’re a citizen who is eligible to vote, too.
Arizona also requires those who want to vote in state elections to show documentary proof of citizenship. That means a passport, birth certificate, naturalization certificate or something similar.
Election officials then check your information against the state’s Department of Transportation data or the Social Security Administration to verify your identity. They’ll send nonforwardable mail to your address to verify that it is accurate, too. If the mail is returned to them, you’ll have to update your address before you vote.
Staying on the roll
Election officials use government databases and the interstate database ERIC to look for voters who have died or moved; they also look at jury duty data to look for voters who say they’ve moved or, rarely, say they aren’t a citizen.
Casting a ballot
If you want to vote by mail, you will need to request a ballot by filling out a form with your signature, which will be checked along with your date of birth. You can also call in your request for a mail ballot, and election officials will ask you questions to verify your identity.
Your mail ballot will be verified by making sure the signature on the ballot matches the signature on file.
If you want to vote in person, you can vote early or on Election Day. Either way, you’ll need to show your ID at the polling site. That’s usually a driver’s license, but you can bring other identifying documents — like a car registration and a utility bill — to prove your identity and residency.
Ballots are then tabulated — either on site or at a county election office — and uploaded to the state through a secure system.
Checking the count
After the election, the machines are again tested for accuracy, and a statistically significant share of ballots is counted by hand.
