By Corinne Murdock |

Gov. Katie Hobbs’ Election Task Force (ETF) admitted that the 2022 election under her administration as secretary of state disenfranchised certain voters.

In the ETF’s final report, issued last week, the group recommended 16 improvements, two of which concerned hotly contested issues on eligible voters’ registration status: provisional ballot forms and cross-county voter registration. The 14 other issues spanned election administration, voter registration, early voting, election day and after procedures, and election equipment and security. 

These provisional ballot and cross-county voter registration standards and procedures caused some voters to be disenfranchised last year. 

Concerning provisional ballot forms, the ETF noted that no law exists to direct counties to have provisional ballots double as voter registration forms for eligible voters who weren’t registered prior to casting their vote. However, it is standard practice adopted by many counties, as noted by the ETF. The ETF also said that inconsistencies in provisional ballot forms across counties resulted in disparate treatment of voters. 

“[T]here is no statutory requirement for counties to adopt this practice, which can result in inconsistent treatment of similarly-situated voters in different counties, and a potential decrease in the practice with turnover in County Recorder and elections offices,” said the ETF.

Maricopa County, which houses the state’s largest voting population, doesn’t have its provisional ballots double as voter registration forms. That meant that unregistered, eligible voters who voted in the primary through a provisional ballot remained unregistered, and therefore cast provisional ballots in the general election that were ultimately rejected. The county offered the following explanation to AZ Free News:

“Maricopa County does not use provisional ballots as registration forms. We do have voter registration forms available at vote centers. An individual must be registered to vote at least 29 before an election to be eligible to vote in that election. So, if someone registers to vote via a registration form at a vote center and then votes a provisional ballot, that provisional ballot will not be valid as they still are not within that 29-day time frame.”

Yet Pima County, which handles the state’s second-largest voting population, does use provisional ballot forms as voter registration.

Concerning cross-county voter registration, the ETF recommended changing state law to allow voters who moved counties to change their address up to and on Election Day, which voters may already do if they change addresses within the same county. Current law requires voters who move to another county to update their address at least 29 days prior to Election Day. The ETF noted that some voters were unaware of address changes to their voter registration

“Some voters are not aware of having made changes to their voter registration through the MVD, or may forget having made a separate request,” stated the ETF.

As alluded to by the ETF, hundreds of voters came forward after the 2022 election to allege that very disenfranchisement happened to them. In his arguments for a new trial in May, failed attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh’s legal team introduced sworn affidavits of hundreds of voters claiming disenfranchisement due to bureaucratic failures. 

One allegedly disenfranchised Maricopa County voter given as an example, Marlena, attempted to vote on Election Day but was denied. Marlena had reportedly experienced issues with the county’s registration system for months: earlier that year, she discovered that her registration had changed without her knowledge and consent. Evidence indicated that Marlena attempted to correct her voter registration before the deadline and subsequently received confirmation from Maricopa County confirming her registration. Yet, she was denied her vote on Election Day.

During a Maricopa County Board of Supervisors meeting in September, county officials noted that individuals have mistakenly checked the wrong box and unknowingly changed their voter registration, when re-registering a vehicle in another county.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.