By Staff Reporter |

There is just over one month left before the midterm elections in early November. 

With just weeks to go, the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office has issued reminders of upcoming deadlines for voters to keep in mind.

October 5 is the deadline to register to vote for the election. 

Early voting begins on October 7, and early ballots will be mailed out on this date. 

Voters who choose to vote in person must have a valid government-issued ID that includes their name, photo, and address matching the one provided on their voter registration. 

Voters with IDs that are expired or featuring an address differing from the one on their voter registration must provide two alternative forms of identification. Alternative forms of ID include a paper or digital Voter Registration Card, utility bill issued within 90 days of the election, bank or credit union statement issued within 90 days of the election, vehicle registration card or form, property tax statement, tribal identification, vehicle insurance card, non-photo government ID, or official election mail. 

Voters who choose to vote via a mail ballot may turn in their ballot by mailing it or dropping it off at a secure drop box or Vote Center. 

Voters may locate a drop box or voting location using the Maricopa County website. 

There are 254 Vote Centers throughout the county, 26 drop box locations without in-person voting, and two 24-hour drop box locations. Certain Vote Center locations are subject to opening as drop box-only sites on certain days. Approximately 90 of the Vote Centers are non-electioneering sites. 

October 23 is the deadline for requesting a replacement ballot by mail. 

Mail ballots come with a green affidavit envelope. Voters must sign that envelope prior to mailing or dropping off their ballot at a drop box or Vote Center. 

The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office recommends mailing back early ballots by October 27 at the latest. 

7 p.m. is the time to remember for Election Day on November 3. 

On Election Day, all ballots must be received by 7 p.m. Postmarks do not count toward this deadline. Voters may also drop off their ballot at any ballot drop box until 7 p.m. Voters who are in line at a Vote Center before 7 p.m. will still be permitted to vote.

Maricopa County voters also have the option to expedite the tabulation of their ballot through ID Verify. 

Through ID Verify, voters who show a valid ID while checking in at a Vote Center may have their ballot envelope stamped with an “ID Verified” marker. The stamp allows voters to bypass the signature verification process. 

Voters impacted by signature verification issues have until 5 p.m. on Nov. 8, 2026, to verify their signature. 

Voters may track their ballot by texting “JOIN” to 628-683. The county will provide real-time updates via text and/or email. Voters may also visit BeBallotReady.Vote to check the status of their ballot, as well as review their voter information and sign up for ballot tracking text or email alerts. 

As of the primary election, Maricopa County has more than 2.5 million registered voters: more than 900,000 independents, 880,000 Republicans, 700,000 Democrats, 28,000 No Labels voters, 18,000 Libertarians, and 2,000 Green voters. 

There are more than 4.3 million voters total in Arizona. 

The county reported that the primary election went smoothly this year. More than 676,000 ballots were cast across more than 250 voting locations. 

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