Hey, Arizona!
Did you know that hundreds of thousands of voters could soon be removed from the state's automatic mail ballot list?
The removals are the first under a state law signed by former Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, in 2021. That statute, which will come to bear in January, requires county officials to remove voters from the Active Early Voting List, or AEVL, if they don’t cast their mail ballot in federal, state, or certain municipal elections for two consecutive cycles — a four-year period.
That means if you didn’t mail or drop off your early ballot in 2023, 2024, or 2025, you could be at risk of being removed if you again don’t do so this year. That applies even if you voted in person in one or more elections.
There’s a difference between being removed from AEVL and having your registration canceled entirely. If you’re impacted by the new law, you will still be registered and able to vote, and you can stay on the early voting list by responding to notices sent by officials in advance of your removal.
If you don’t take those steps, you’ll no longer automatically receive a mail ballot for each election.
You can still request to rejoin the mail ballot list. But research suggests that similar laws in other states have caused voters to turn to other methods of voting, or to stop voting entirely.
Texas is one such example. Its Senate Bill 1, a sweeping voting law that made it harder for voters to apply to receive a mail ballot, changed voting patterns in the next election cycle, according to a report last year from the Brennan Center.
Kevin Morris, one of the researchers on that report, told me those impacts could be amplified in Arizona, where the vast majority of voters cast a mail ballot.
“A policy like this is going to have those sorts of effects on voters, and it’s rooted in misinformation about the prevalence of mail voting fraud,” he said, adding that the pool of impacted voters here could be “an order of magnitude larger than in some of the other states.”
“It is really troubling,” Morris added.
Officials are preparing to send out removal notices to voters early next year, so I’ll keep you posted as I learn more about exactly who might get kicked off the list.
That’s it for this week — but before I sign off, a few extra items. First, if you’re a fellow journalist, I highly recommend that you join Votebeat’s Expert Desk for the upcoming midterms. This completely free resource gets you immediate, on-the-record access to vetted election experts. Learn more and sign up here.
Also, I’ll be among a panel of reporters hosting a webinar next month to answer all of your election questions heading into midterms season. If you’re reading this newsletter, I want to see you there! You can RSVP here, and more details are below.
Finally, do me a favor and tell a friend to sign up for the newsletter here so they don’t miss out on future editions. And, let me know what I should look into next. You can reach me anytime at [email protected].
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You’re invited: Will the midterms happen? Your election questions, answered | Part 2
Will the 2026 midterms happen? Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: Elections happen because thousands of local officials follow state and local laws requiring them to happen — and history shows they’ve done so before, even under immense pressure. The greater danger isn’t no election, but one that’s chaotic, unfairly challenged, or deliberately cast as illegitimate after the fact.
Got more questions about the midterms? Submit them to Votebeat reporters with your RSVP, and they’ll give you the long answer live on Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. EDT.
On the Lighter Side
How do you pronounce “Nevada”?
That might sound like a simple question — but the stakes are high, as one federal official recently learned.
A Homeland Security official mispronounced the state’s name during a call earlier this month with election leaders there, according to reporting from The Guardian. That prompted a top official in the Nevada Secretary of State's Office to interrupt his presentation and correct him.
“I’d be remiss and every fellow Nevadan would lose their mind if I didn’t correct you,” said Mark Wlaschin, the state’s election director. “It’s said Nevada, not Nevahda. I grew up on the East Coast; I’m sure I got it wrong at first, but Nevada, if you don’t mind, please.”
So, Arizonans, practice this before your next trip to Las Vegas: It’s “Neh-VAD-duh,” not “Neh-VAH-duh.” 🎰
The Big Story
Hundreds of thousands of Arizonans could be removed from the mail voting list in 2027
Arizona voters who haven’t used their mail ballots in recent general elections could get kicked off the Active Early Voting List starting in 2027.
Our Latest Stories
Election officials wrestle with uncertainty amid legal battles over Trump mail ballot restrictions
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Donald Trump’s mail voting executive order, leaving election officials who are about to send out midterm ballots in a difficult position.
The SAVE system isn’t reliable, but it still might be useful. One Arizona county’s experience shows how.
Donald Trump’s administration expanded the SAVE system to identify noncitizen voters. Yavapai County Recorder Michelle Burchill also used it to expand ballot access and find dead voters.
Over 1,300 ballots never made it to voters in Navajo County. That isn’t unusual.
Over 1,300 mail ballots were returned to election officials in Navajo County in Arizona’s 2026 primary election, attracting attention from Recorder David Marshall and President Donald Trump.
In Other Voting News
Arizona recorder's election-denying allies boost legislative campaign, Arizona Republic (Paywall)
‘With 1,000% certainty’: Voters say candidates faked their donations to get public campaign cash, Arizona Mirror
Like father, like son, Arizona Agenda
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