PHOENIX — Imagine opening your ballot only to see most of the races say “no candidate.”
That’s what happened to Mesa voter Marlene Elliott. An experienced voter who has been casting ballots since she was 18, Elliott feared something nefarious.
“Someone was trying to cheat,” was her first thought, she told ABC15. Elliott said she was also upset she wasn’t getting the opportunity to vote for her chosen candidates.
“I opened it up and was quite shocked,” she said. “I have a blank ballot.”
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Elliott, who is registered as an independent voter, reached out to ABC15 while looking for answers.
Eight of the 10 partisan races on her ballot simply list “no candidate.” The Legislative District 10 race has one name, and the governor’s race offers two candidates: Hugh Lytle and Teri Ann Hourihan.
That’s because Elliott received a ballot for the No Labels Party – a party she said she had never heard of.
The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office told ABC15 Elliott had “returned a 90-day card indicating her preference for a No Labels Party Ballot.”
State law requires county recorders to send voters on the Active Early Voting List a notice about the upcoming election 90 days before Election Day. Independent voters get a postcard to request a ballot.
In Maricopa County, this year’s card included four options: Republican Party Ballot, No Labels Party Ballot, City/Town Only and Democratic Party Ballot.
In Arizona, independent voters – those who are not affiliated with a party – can choose to vote in one party’s primary, but they must ask for that party's ballot.
It’s a system Elliott is critical of, saying she would like to have a say in all primary races because they affect her.
“As a voter, I should get my ballot and be able to choose who I'd like to vote for, regardless of their affiliation,” she said.
Independent voters who want to select a different party’s ballot can do so as long as they have not returned their first ballot, because only one ballot can be counted.
Voters who wish to do so can go to a vote center and ask for a different ballot, the Recorder’s Office said. They will need to show ID, and bring additional documents if the address on their identification differs from the address on their voting record.
As for Elliott, she told ABC15 she filled out her No Labels ballot, writing in her chosen candidates.
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