Desert Messenger

February 21, 2024 www.DesertMessenger.com 17 AZ Primary election moved up from August 6 to July 30 Phoenix-Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed a bill with last-minute fixes to the state's election calendar on Friday, thwarting a potential presidential election year disaster. "I'm proud to sign our bipartisan deal to keep our elections free and fair," Hobbs said. "With this bill, we're making sure Arizonans will have their voices heard at the ballot box." House Bill 2785 makes multiple adjustments to the election time- line, most notably moving the 2024 primary up one week, from August 6th to July 30th. Governor Hobbs signed HB 2785 on February 9th. That means all the deadlines have changed and are now 7 days earlier. • Candidate Filing of nomination paperwork, petitions and financial disclosure is now March 2nd to April 1st for the July 30th primary. June 8th to July 8th for the General election non partisan offices. • Candidate Challenge Period is April 2nd to April 15th for the July 30th ballot. And July 9th to July 22nd for the General Election. • THE PRIMARY ELECTION IS NOW JULY 30TH • For voters, the voter registration deadline is July 1st for the July 30th Primary, and October 7th for the November 5th General election. The changes will not affect next month's Presidential Preference Election, scheduled for March 19. The changes are needed to fix what Hobbs on Friday called "a really big problem that was created by legis- lation following conspiracy-theory rabbit holes of the 2020 election." She was referring to SB 1008, a 2022 law that increased the margin that triggers a mandatory recount of ballots in a race. Previously, re- counts were required when there was a gap of 0.1% or less between candidates, but the new law sets the difference at 0.5%. JP Martin, a spokesperson for Ari- zona Secretary of State Adrian Fon- tes, said, the new law will "bring the most secure and fair elections that Arizona has seen because we came together to improve election integ- rity under both Democratic and Re- publican perspective." To learn more visit www.azsos.gov. Phoenix- The election is called a "preference" election to convey that the results reflect voters' prefer- ences. To participate, you must be regis- tered with an official political party holding a Presidential Preference Election by February 20, 2024. The Republican and Democratic parties are the only parties holding a Presi- dential Preference Election this year. Eligible voters may vote early by mail, early in-person, or in-person on Election Day. Eligible voters on the Active Early Voting List (AEVL) will receive a ballot by mail auto- matically. Voters not on the AEVL may also request a ballot be sent via mail no later than 11 days before the election. For a list of in-person early voting locations or Election Day polling places/vote centers, please visit your county's website or my.arizona.vote. DATES TO REMEMBER: February 20, 2024 Last day to register to vote for the 2024 Presidential Preference Election at 11:59 p.m. February 21, 2024 Early Voting begins and ballots mailed to eligible voters on the Ac- tive Early Voting List and eligible voters who have requested a one- time ballot-by-mail for the 2024 Presidential Preference Election. Presidential Preference Election (PPE) March 19th info February 29, 2024 EARLY SATELLITE VOTING at Quartzsite Town Hall, 465 N. Plym- outh Ave. 10am-2pm. March 8, 2024 Last day to request an early ballot- by-mail for the 2024 Presidential Preference Election. March 9 – March 12, 2024 Recommended dates to mail your ear- ly ballot back to ensure it is received by county election officials by 7 p.m. on March 19, 2024. March 15, 2024 Deadline to Vote Early In-Person for the 2024 Presidential Prefer- ence Election is 7 p.m. * Emergency voting options may be available after this deadline. Check with your county election officials for more information. MARCH 19, 2024 Presidential Preference Election Day at Quartzsite Community Cen- ter, 295 E. Chandler. Arizona is the only state in the coun- try that requires proof of citizen- ship in addition to a signed affidavit when you register to vote in state elections. You must be an American citizen to vote in all states, but most only require voters to sign an affida- vit attesting that they are U.S. citi- zens under the penalty of perjury. You can check your registration status and party affiliation through My.Arizona.Vote.

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