'Suspense' list could stop some registered Arizona voters from casting ballots

Faulty voter registration forms could stop some voters from casting ballots, but there is still time for them to fix the problem before Election Day.

According to the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, a voter can be put on a “suspense” list if they submit a new registration form that is incomplete or includes erroneous information. A voter added to the list will not be able to cast an early ballot or vote at the polls on Election Day, even if they had previously voted in the past before submitting the problematic registration.

That happened to Leanna Taylor’s son, who registered to vote last year after his 18th birthday and voted in a past special election.

“The red flag was he didn’t get an early ballot,” Taylor said, noting her son signed up for the early voting list.

And when her son tried to vote in person, the system showed he was not registered, Taylor said.

After being contacted by KJZZ News, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer discovered the son submitted a new registration form in September that erroneously listed “2025” as his birth year.

“So that moved him into suspense,” Richer said.

Taylor Kinnerup, a spokesperson for the Recorder’s Office, said there are scenarios when a voter who is already registered will submit another form, like when students on college campuses are approached during voter registration drives.

Attorney Paul Weich, a longtime poll worker, said he helped a woman vote after her registration was moved onto the suspense list. The woman had become paralyzed and, when she tried to change her party registration, her new form was illegible due to her medical condition.

“That led to her existing voter registration being yanked,” Weich said.

Weich and others were able to help the woman contact the county to correct the issue. Eventually, the county sent a special election board to her home so she could cast a ballot.

“But she would not have been otherwise able to cast a ballot, because of this [suspense] folder and her paralysis,” he said.

Kinnerup said the number of voters on the suspense list changes regularly and did not provide a figure for how many are currently listed.

She said voters put on suspense can fix the problem by contacting the Recorder’s Office or by submitting a new, corrected registration, including through the online portal at servicearizona.com.

They can make that correction and vote this year even though the voter registration deadline for the November general election was Oct. 7.

“You can cure your registration as long as you registered prior to that voter registration deadline,” Kinnerup said.

Kinnerup said voters on the suspense list who initially registered prior to Oct. 7 can cast a provisional ballot at polling places. Those votes will be counted as long as the voter “cures,” or corrects, the problems with their voter registration in time.

Both Kinnerup and Weich said voters should check their registration before heading to the polls.

“It is super important that voters check their voter registration status before going to vote, because little hitches like this could prevent them from being able to cast a regular ballot and could prevent their provisional ballot from being counted,” Weich said.

Voters in Maricopa County can check their registration status at beballotready.vote. Voters around the state can check their status at Arizona.vote.