Cochise County to set three vote centers for 2025 special Congressional elections; dates and logistics reviewed

The Cochise County Board of Supervisors’ work session on April 3 reviewed Resolution 25-06 to designate three vote centers for the 2025 special primary and general elections in Congressional District 7 and to authorize the elections official to make substitutions as allowed by law.

The county will hold a special primary on July 15 and a special general on Sept. 23, staff said. The proposed vote centers are in Douglas, Bisbee and Palominas; vote center hours will be 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mail ballots for the affected precincts are scheduled to go out beginning June 28, and early voting dates in Douglas include June 21 and June 28 with likely hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., staff added.

Marisol Aventeria, the elections staff member who presented the item, told the board there are 17,775 active registered voters in the precincts served by the three centers; 12,733 of those voters are on the early-voting list. Staff said it will send sample ballots and use social media and local outlets to publicize where and how to vote.

Board members discussed the geographic oddities of the new district lines and asked staff for a full precinct map and confirmation of which communities are included (Bisbee, Douglas, Naco, Palominas, and nearby precincts were cited). The board also discussed confusion among some residents about which district they now reside in and directed staff to publicize the information broadly, including via local city and town channels.

No formal vote on the resolution was recorded during the work session. The item summary listed authorization for the elections official to substitute vote-center locations as needed under Arizona law.

Details on vote-center staffing, ballot drop boxes and final site confirmations were not recorded in the work-session discussion and will be finalized by elections staff before the elections.