Arizona Supreme Court Decision on Ballot Curing Deadline

On Sunday, the Arizona Supreme Court decided not to prolong the timeframe for voters to amend issues with their mail-in ballots. This verdict came after advocacy groups expressed concerns about delays in vote tabulation and notifying voters who had discrepancies with their ballot signatures.

Officials from eight out of Arizona's 15 counties informed the court that all voters with signature mismatches had received proper notification and could address the issue.

Under Arizona's voting regulations, individuals voting by mail are entitled to be informed of issues like signatures that don't match official records. They must be offered a 'reasonable' opportunity to rectify these discrepancies, a process known as 'curing'.

Justice Bill Montgomery, serving as the on-duty judge for the panel, stated that there wasn't any evidence showing that voters were denied the chance to reasonably cure their ballots. He pointed out that none of the responding counties requested a further extension.

According to the court order, there was no proof of any voters being disenfranchised.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Campaign Legal Center had previously filed a petition naming election officials like Stephen Richer from Maricopa County. They sought an emergency order to extend the curing deadline by up to four days, beyond the original cutoff of 5 p.m. MST Sunday. Maricopa County, which is the most populated in Arizona and home to Phoenix, was a primary concern.

These organizations claimed that by Friday night, over a quarter-million mail-in ballots were yet to be signature verified, with a significant portion pending in Maricopa County. They feared this could lead to many Arizona voters being unable to correct their ballots in time.

Montgomery, who was appointed to the state's highest court by former Republican Governor Doug Ducey in 2019, noted that responses from eight counties, including Maricopa, indicated that all affected voters had been reached through at least one phone call, supplemented by emails, text messages, or mail.

Nevertheless, the Navajo Nation conveyed to the court that more than 182 tribe members in Apache County had ballots needing correction as of Saturday.

Earlier on Sunday, reports from Maricopa County suggested that numerous ballots were still awaiting processing. The Secretary of State of Arizona disclosed the total count of ballots cast in the election.