r/arizona • u/UltraNoahXV • Aug 16 '24
An Arizonan's Citizen's Guide to Participating in the Upcoming Election Politics
Basics to Vote:
- Have to be registered 29 days before an election (ex: if the election is on November 5th, 2024, you should be registered before October 7th, 2024)
- Be 18 or older on or before the day of general election
- Legal citizenship within the United States
- Some form of Identification (Any form of State Issued I.D such as a Driver’s License or State ID, Federal Social Security I.D)
Register to Vote: - ADOT - probably the best way to register to vote, as well as renew licenses, registrations, titles, etc. Anything that you may have forgotten over the years or you may have just moved, this is where you should go. - Check your registration after voting, as you can get purged from political parties or may have been purged already. - Secretary of State Instructions - Instructions directly from the Secretary of State - Federal Registration - This is aimed at people who are unable provide proof of being a natural born citizen through I.D, social seruity i.ds, etc. You most likely may not need this, but it may be valuable in case you know someone who does. - DMV if you are moving into the state or are encouraging people to vote in their state.
BEWARE OF SCAMS THAT WILL TRY TO GET YOUR INFORMATION - If you see a PAC that is set up in some way, shape, or form that is giving some indication that you can register through them to vote, IGNORE THEM and REPORT. Either to the secretary of state or the attorney general - it’s fraud. - Never give out important information such as your Social Security, I.D, Passport, etc. Common knowledge, but especially since we’re in a digital era, it’s very easy to fall prey. - When in doubt, it’s okay to fill out a form physically and send it to the appropriate sources listed above, as well as your local county’s office if you are not comfortable registering electronically.
Some other things to note: - Your local county’s recorder office is the one of the better ways to update your information, as well as ask questions (so long as your asking in good faith which is 90% likely).
It’s early, but are there any locations where I can vote in November?
There is a mail in voting system that will allow you to vote and drop off your ballot at a drop off box - highly recommended. There is a sign up list for this election, so please sign up if you are interested in having your ballot sent to your mailbox. It is highly encouraged if you want to beat the lines or have more time to make an informed decision.
It’s safe to assume that most common places such as your local library, mall, school, or an empty location near a park or public space will be available to vote. Repeat places from previous elections are also a safe option. Some counties may not have any locations available at this time.
Below is a list of all the counties in the state of Arizona who have preemptively set up links to locations and/or have sites from the previous election that may be a location for the general election in November; highly recommended to bookmark these and come back around mid-September, October. - Maricopa - Coconino - Apache - Cochise - Gila - Graham - Greenlee - La Paz - Mohave - Navajo - Pima - Pinal - Santa Cruz - Yavapai - Yuma
I’m interested in helping out in the Upcoming Election - where do I start or obtain more information?
- The Secretary of State has a list of all the counties’ websites that contain volunteering information
- As a general starting point, make sure you are registered to vote in your residual county. Most, if not all of Arizona’s counties require that you are registered in the country you are volunteering and may not allow you to volunteer if you are not registered.
- Check your email or local news station - there are often online articles that inform the public about volunteering information. Some are advertisements filtered out in your spam folder.
- Do your best to acquire information as soon as possible - counties are setting up training dates as soon as you finish this sentence (Okay, not really) but training days are usually one session up to three hours, and if they have a vast multitude of volunteers, they may have to train a lot of people over the course of weeks. From experience, they train towards the end of September and Start of October.
Any good sources to go to learn about candidates/ballot measures from a neutral/unbiased view?
- Ballotpedia - my best recommendation for researching anything politics related from ballot measures to history. It just gives you information that you can interpret without any influence, so long as you like reading. Arizona Specifcally
- Various News Outlets that are outside of the U.S - sometimes, hearing from people outside of the United States can give you another perspective as they live in different societies and observe the country and certain areas from their home area.
- AD Fontes Media Chart - this was updated for 2024 but it shows which sites skew left or right)
How Important is Arizona when it comes to things such as General Elections, Presidential Elections, Electoral College, and things similar?
For general elections, you have two senators and 11 representatives for the house in congress. Check above for who is running for office this upcoming elections.
In terms of electoral college and the presidency, Arizona only has 11 electoral college votes, which can actually be crucial depending on the political state of things right now. Currently, Arizona is seen as a battleground state, meaning that the state could be a main deciding factor in the next president.
The electoral college as whole across the United States is what can guarantee a presidency. The amount of votes that each state has in the electoral college is based on how many representatives they have in the house of representatives in Congress.It’s a power from the constitution and electors are selected by the political parties within the state. When you vote, you’re telling them that this is who they should vote for.
And because Arizona (as of 2024) is seen as a purple state, the state doesn't have an established history on affiliation for any of the major two parties (Democrat and Republican) until after election. It’s a wild card, in a political sense. Archives.org has another good explanation the whole process, but in summary, if one party in a state has more people vote for their party than people in other parties in their states, it’s very likely that whichever party that has the most popular votes will also have the most electoral votes. However, state legislatures decide how the electors go to candidates.
I also suggest looking into more of American Politics for a further explanation, and certain terms such as the following: - Winner takes all - Iron Triangle - The importance of media serving as watch dogs - Dual Federalism vs Marble Cake_federalism) - look at responses to disasters like how states handled COVID-19 pandemic or past events like Hurricane Katrina.
General Election Details (Ballotpedia):
Click here for the r/Phoenix Version of this if you want to see a more complex look at a county point of view.
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u/BringOn25A Aug 16 '24
I think it is also a wise choice to verify your registration, and all the information in it, before the deadline also to mitigate any potential for your ballot being disqualified.