Update
Got a call about your ballot signature? You have until Sunday at 5 p.m.
If Yuma County couldn't match the signature on your early ballot, you have until 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, to fix it. With a hospital board seat 80 votes apart, this one isn't abstract.
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If you voted early and somebody from the County has been trying to reach you about your signature, call them back.
You have until 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8. That's the statewide deadline to fix a signature problem on an early ballot, according to the Arizona Secretary of State.
What this is
Every early ballot envelope has a signature on it. Before the ballot gets counted, election workers compare that signature to the ones in your voter file.
Most match. Some don't. Handwriting changes. People sign in a hurry on the hood of a car. When the County can't verify a signature, it's supposed to contact the voter and give them a chance to confirm it was really them.
That's called curing the ballot. It takes a few minutes. Miss the deadline and the ballot doesn't count.
The Secretary of State's advice is simple: if you get a notice, answer it now. Don't wait for Sunday.
How to check
You don't have to wait for a call. You can look up the status of your early ballot on the state's voter portal, My.Arizona.Vote. If it says your ballot was received and verified, you're done.
If something looks off, or you just want to be sure, call:
- Yuma County Election Services, 197 S. Main St., Suite 103, (928) 373-1014
- Or go in person to the Yuma County Recorder's Office, 102 S. Main St.
If you get a call you're not sure about, hang up and call the County's published number yourself.
Why it matters this time
When Yuma County posted its last update of election night, at about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, it had counted 29,159 ballots. It listed 20,197 more still pending: 19,606 early ballots and 591 provisional ballots. Most of those early ballots were dropped off on Election Day and still needed their signatures checked.
Meanwhile, some local races were close enough to fit in a church parking lot. As of that update:
- Hospital District No. 1, third seat: 80 votes
- Yuma Union High School board, second seat: 147 votes
- Gadsden Elementary board, third seat: 11 votes
- Somerton City Council, second seat: 21 votes
- Wellton Town Council, third seat: 27 votes
Those are leads, not wins. Some of those races don't get an automatic recount no matter how close they finish. Here's why.
What happens after Sunday
The County keeps counting until every eligible ballot is done. Results stay unofficial until the Board of Supervisors canvasses them, which state law requires by Nov. 19. The statewide canvass is Nov. 23.
More 2026 election coverage is in the Yuma Informed Election Center.
Where this comes from
- Arizona Secretary of State, "Arizona voters are encouraged to check the final status of their ballot and cure any issues before 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 8, 2026". Official release. Source of the deadline.
- Arizona Secretary of State, 2026 election calendar and primary-election cure release. Official. Canvass dates and the My.Arizona.Vote portal.
- Yuma County Election Services, 2026 Candidate Handbook. Official. Address and phone for Election Services.
- Yuma County election results, unofficial results page, upload of about 1:31 a.m. Nov. 4. Official, unofficial results.