Pima County elections officials call November 2024 races secure but flag process delays and staffing strains

Elections Director Hargrove told the Pima County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 21 that staff consider the November 2024 general election the most secure the office has run since she joined the department, even as the election exposed operational bottlenecks.

Hargrove said the county had “learned a lot” about handling a two‑card ballot and processing large volumes of early ballots that arrived close to or on election day. She said ballot duplication and the ‘‘duplication takes a long time’’ procedure was a primary bottleneck and that late-arriving early ballots and provisional ballots required extra verification steps that slowed tabulation.

The recorder, Casares Kelly, told the board her office faced an added workload after a state judicial change altered documentary proof-of-citizenship and proof-of-residency requirements for new registrations; that change created additional triage and verification steps for some registrants and left a subset of voters treated as “federal‑only” until documentary proof was provided. She also described a temporary deactivation of the online ballot request portal in late October while staff addressed surges of incomplete or incorrect requests and said the office followed up with supplemental reporting to the board. In defending the decisions made during the vote period, Casares Kelly said, “we made a choice, and, I stand by that choice.”

Hargrove described specific operational lessons and actions under way: more hands‑on poll worker training, planning for a second shift to expand early‑ballot processing capacity, and preparations to speed ballot duplication. She urged greater flexibility in staffing for peak periods and recommended considering different vote‑center sizes and equipment allocations so high‑volume centers can scale up quickly.

Both officials described outreach efforts to make voting more accessible: Hargrove cited a demonstration at a school for the blind that helped county staff refine accessible voting operations and reduce barriers for voters with disabilities. The recorder said she plans to implement unstaffed ballot drop boxes in future cycles and is reviewing best practices used in other Arizona counties.

Board members asked for follow‑up reports on several operational items, including: (1) a redesign of the online ballot‑request portal to tie requests to the voter database; (2) the county’s plan for additional ballot drop boxes and how they would be secured and sited; (3) staffing‑hire streamlining for early‑board workers and temporary signature‑verification shifts; and (4) criteria the elections office will use to review whether to retain the same 126 vote‑center locations for future elections.

The county recorded large volumes of early ballots sent or returned in the week before and immediately after election day compared with prior cycles; both the elections director and recorder said that pattern creates operational pressure and that proposed legislative changes to early‑ballot deadlines could further shift workload and staffing needs. Hargrove recommended that voters return early ballots as soon as possible.

The board did not take formal action on election administration during this session; members requested periodic updates as the elections office implements the changes discussed.