Registering for Political Parties
When you register to vote, you may choose to join a political party. You do NOT have to choose a party.
If you do not select a party, you will be registered as a Party Not Designated (PND) voter.
This is also referred to as a voter who is unaffiliated with a political party.
There are five recognized political parties in Arizona:
These parties have met the requirements to hold Primary Elections in the state.
This is called "ballot status."
A party may also qualify for ballot status in a county, city or town.
A party can gain and lose ballot status based on several factors.
The Secretary of State has a Citizen Engagement Guide that explains this in detail.
Information about Political Party Recognition is on page 106.
The Democratic and Republican parties are printed on the Voter Registration form
because their large numbers of registered voters mean they will likely never lose ballot status.
The other three parties are not listed on the form.
If a voter wants to register for the Green, No Labels or Libertarian Party, they should check “Other”
and write in the party of their choice.
Please note that “Independent” is not a recognized party in Arizona, but people often refer to Party Not Designated (PND) voters as “Independent” voters.
ALL unrecognized party voters are PND voters. Another term for this is “unaffiliated,”
meaning they are not affiliated with a recognized party that has ballot status.
Voters who leave the box blank or choose “Other” but fail to write in a party name will be registered as a Party Not Designated
and will have "PND" on their Voter ID Card. Again, voters are not required to choose a political party.
Your political party choice may affect which elections you can participate in.
In Arizona, political parties may allow unaffiliated voters to vote in their primaries. This is an “open primary.”
Some parties hold "closed" primaries, and only their registered members can participate.
During Presidential election years, a party might choose to have a Presidential Preference Election to help select a Presidential candidate.
You might hear this referred to as a “PPE.” This is how Arizona political parties choose their Presidential candidates. It is held separate from the Primary Election.
A PPE is always a “closed” election, and if voters want to change their party to participate,
they must do so at least 29 days before the Presidential Preference Election.
Who can vote in a Primary Election?
Primary elections in Arizona allow voters who are not members of a participating party
or are registered as Party Not Designated to participate by requesting a partisan ballot from a party holding an open primary.
Selecting a party’s ballot will not change your voter registration. You are simply choosing to vote that party’s ballot.
Please note: If you choose a party’s ballot at any time, you may not request another party’s ballot even if you didn’t vote the first ballot.
Court cases have allowed parties to place limits on who can vote in their primary elections. This can change for each election,
as the parties make their own rules about whether their Primaries are OPEN or whether they hold a Primary at all.
Unaffiliated Voters in Primary Elections
Ninety days before Primary Elections, the Pima County Recorder’s Office mails reminders to all voters
who have joined to the Active Early Voting List or AEVL.
These voters receive ballots by mail for every election they are eligible to vote.
Do you know if you have signed up for AEVL? Visit the Voter Dashboard to check.
The notice will ask eligible unaffiliated voters which ballot they prefer.
Who can request a partisan ballot?
Party Not Designated voters may request the partisan ballot they would like to vote.
- Requesting a ballot for the Primary does NOT change Party Preference.
Arizona voters can change their party at any time by updating their Voter Registration. To be eligible for a particular election,
those changes must occur at least 29 days before that election.
