As a registered independent living in Arizona, the rule to vote in the primary is I have to declare for a party and ask for a ballot. So, I followed the rules and called to request the ballot for the party I wanted.
The woman who answered the phone (sounded like I woke her up) told me that I am registered ‘No Labels.’ I told her I have never heard of ‘No Labels,’ and that I am an independent.
She said I had to go on the website and reregister to change my affiliation.
I asked how I became a ‘No Labels’ to begin with, but she had no answer. The website no longer recognized my login information, which meant I had to do it in person —downtown.
Fast forward, this last weekend I received two ballots. One for ‘No Labels’ and one for the declared party. So here are some of my questions. Do I vote on both ballots? Do I go to jail if I do? Are ‘No Labels’ voters allowed to request a different ballot? Do ‘No Labels’ voters have to vote just on a ‘No Labels’ ballot?
When did they change my affiliation? Why did they change it? Are all independents now called ‘No Labels’? Are ‘No Labels’ treated the same as independents? If I vote on the declared party ballot, will it count?
Is there anything illegal about what is going on?
If changes were made, why didn’t the Recorder notify us and address the issue? Does the Recorder even know what is going on in her department? Is this a one-time mistake or are all independents now getting ‘No Labels’ ballots?
If not a mistake, then what is it? A failure to communicate? Why is the Recorder not updating the voters of what has transpired and what is required of them? How do they know if they are voting in a legal manner?
I feel my voting rights have been compromised and I’m still not sure which ballot/ballots I am legally allowed to use.
[According to this ballot, ‘No Labels’ voters are only voting in the governor category. I don’t know if this is what ‘No Labels’ voters are required to do, expected to do, only allowed to do, or if it is a new thing, an always thing, or just this one-time thing. I don’t know, I have never heard of ‘No Labels’.]
Is this an effort to minimize the independent vote? It sure feels like it. It is already very difficult for independents to vote in the primary—this is just further muddying the waters.
Last election, I had to change my affiliation and declare a party for the primary. This required them to send a new voting card. I changed back to an independent before the general election, requiring them to send another new voter card.
It's a waste of taxpayer money, postage, paper, ink, and time.
It would make more sense to have all qualified candidates listed with their party affiliation and all registered voters receive the same ballot. Think about it, we are only allowed to vote a certain number of times in each category anyway. What difference would it make? Candidates with the highest percentage move on to the general election.
Why does it have to be so difficult? Is the intent of this cumbersome system to discourage independent voters from voting? This process makes me understand why so many don’t vote in the primary.
Voting rights should apply equally to all voters regardless of party affiliation. This process isn’t equal to all. Check out the Chad Peace show on the Law Matters podcast dated June 29, 2026 (see above)—there is more to it.