June 24, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VOTER ALERT

Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap Issues Voter Alert for Absentee Voters in CD-7 Special Election

PHOENIX, AZ – Today, Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap issued the following voter alert for nearly 28,000 absentee ballot voters participating in the CD-7 Special Election.

If you receive an absentee ballot that is not yours, FOLLOW THESE STEPS:

1) Write RETURN TO SENDER on the envelope.

2) Drop it in the nearest mailbox or drop it off at
your local United States Post Office location.

Due to an issue with how the United States Postal Service processes ‘Return to Sender’ mail that was identified by Recorder Heap and the team at the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office—if a voter receives an absentee ballot that is not theirs, it is NOT enough to simply check the box on the outside of the ballot envelope and put it back in the mail. Instead the words “Return to Sender” or “RTS” must be written on the envelope before it is returned to the Postal Service.

This issue was known to the prior Recorder; however, according to MCRO staff and available records this information was never communicated to the public at-large. The reason for this communication failure is unknown.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Stray excess ballots not only serve as an election security vulnerability, but also as a point of significant frustration for voters in Maricopa County. Voters can help us keep the voter rolls clean by following the steps above when returning an absentee ballot for a voter who no longer resides at their address.

We ask for the media’s help in educating voters on this critically important additional step.

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^{Recorder Heap is available for interviews on this subject. Contact our office to schedule.}