TOWN OF CAMP VERDE
+ 473 S. Main Street + Camp Verde, Arizona 86322 + ( 928) 567- 6631 FAX 567- 9061
Marshal 567- 6621 + Parks & Recreation 567- 0535 + Community Development 567- 8513 + www. campverde- az. gov
October 12,2007
Honorable President
Arizona State Senate
1700 W. Washington, Senate Wing
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Honorable Speaker
House of Representatives
1700 W. Washington
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Re: Town of Camp Verde Mail Ballot 2007 Elections
Dear Sirs:
RECEIVED
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
The Town of Camp Verde recently conducted its mail ballot elections. Pursuant to ARS § 16409.6,
our Mail Ballot Election Report is enclosed. The report addresses all required information.
In February 2002, the Mayor and Council passed an ordinance requiring all future municipal
elections to be by mail ballot. As Camp Verde's election official, I continue to be delighted with
the overall results of the mail ballot election process, as voter turnout continues to improve.
Please feel free to contact me if you need further information.
Sincerely,
~ J30JJwJ
Deborah Barber, CMC
Town Clerk
Handicap Relay: Voice: 1- 800- 842- 4681 + TDD: 1- 800- 367- 8939
Town of Camp Verde
Mail Ballot Election Report
1. Changes in Voter Turnout
Election Date # Registered # Ballots cast % Voter Turnout
Voters
3/ 21/ 1989 # unavailable 700 unknown
3/ 19/ 1991 # unavailable 727 unknown
5/ 21/ 1991 # unavailable 714 unknown
Recall Section
2/ 2/ 1993 # unavailable 1,131 unknown
Primary Election
3/ 9/ 1993 # unavailable 934 unknown
Primary Election
3/ 14/ 1995 # unavailable 864 unknown
General Election
5/ 16/ 1995 # unavailable 904 unknown
Primary Election
3/ 11/ 1997 4,484 1.309 29.19%
General Election
5/ 20/ 1997 4,359 1,537 35.26%
Recall Section
3/ 10/ 1998 4,484 1,424 31.75%
Recall Election
5/ 19/ 1998 4,505 1,319 29.28%
Primary Election
3/ 9/ 1999 4,633 1,314 28.36%
General Election
5/ 18/ 1999 4,663 1,618 34.7%
Primary Election ·
3/ 13/ 2001 4,251 2,246 53.23%
General Election*
5/ 15/ 2001 4,120 1,808 44.13%
Special Election
9/ 10/ 2002 3,256 1,639 50.33%
Primary Election*
3/ 11/ 2003 3,672 2,037 55.47%
May 18, 2004* 3,833 1,697 44.27%
March 8, 2005* 4,306 2,455 57.01%
May 17, 2005* 4,225 2,216 52.45%
November 8, 2005* 4,100 1,606 39.0%
Primary Election*
March 13,2007 4,591 2,727 59.4%
General Election* 4,629 2,432 52.54%
* Mail Ballot Elections
Town of Camp Verde
Mail Ballot Election Report
2. Cost of Mail Ballot Election Compared to Traditional Elections
Election Dates Total Cost # Ballots Cost per Cost per
cast Ballot cast Registered Voter
Mar/ May 1997 $ 8,115 2,846 $ 2.85 $ 1.81
Mar/ May 1998 $ 11,319 2,743 $ 4.13 $ 2.51
Mar/ May 1999 $ 10,249 2,932 $ 3.50 $ 2.20
Mar/ May 2001 $ 8,326 4,054 $ 2.05 $ 1.96
5ept2002 $ 4,0561 1,639 $ 2.47 $ 1.25
Mar 11, 2003 $ 12,4692 2,037 $ 6.12 $ 3.40
May 18,2004 $ 10,820.723 1,697 $ 6.37 $ 2.56
Mar 8,2005 $ 9,852.16 2,455 $ 4.01 $ 2.28
May 17, 2005 $ 1,555.45 2,216 $ 0.70 $ 0.36
Special Election $ 3,733.67 1,606 $ 2.32 $. 091
Nov 8,2005
March 13, 2007 $ 10,498.724 2,727 $ 3.89 $ 2.29
May 15,2007 $ 4,064 2,432 $ 1.67 $ 0.87
3. Suggestions for Improvements or Refinements in the Mail Ballot Program
Voter feedback with this election was very positive. Voters seemed satisfied with the
process. Yavapai County is working on redesigning the envelope to make the
signature line more prominent. The voters have become very comfortable with the
Mail Ballot Election.
4. Fregu~ ncy and S~ v~ rity of Mail Ballot; Irr~ ularities
The frequency and severity of mail ballot irregularities were higher than normal
during this election cycle, with 84 rejected ballots ( 3.5%) during the Primary and 71
rejected ballots ( 2.91%) in the General Election. The majority of rejected ballots
were due to lack of signature on the ballot envelope.
1 This Clmount is lOWer tt@ n usual c1u~ to cost !) h(] ring with Yav(] piIi C<> ljnty.
2 This amount is higher than usual due to the statutory requirements for publicity pamphlets. This cost includes the
pamphlet production, translation, printing, and mailing to all households with a registered voter. The publicity
pamphlet costs totaled $ 9,749. The costs of this election, excluding the publicity pamphlets, are $ 0.74 per registered
voter.
3 The publicity pamphlet costs totaled $ 8,7ii2. The costs of this election, excluding the publicity pamphlets, are $ 0.60
per registered voter.
4 The publicity pamphlet costs totaled $ 8,203. The cost of this election, excluding the publicity pamphlets, is $ 0.56
per registered voter.
Town of Camp Verde
Mail Ballot Election Report
5. Voter Satisfaction with the Process
Comments received during the Elections indicated that the voters not only enjoyed
the convenience of mail ballots, they appreciated the additional time to study the
issues that mail ballots allow.
Overall, the voter response was positive. In my opinion, as voters continue to
become more familiar with the procedure, they will become more confident and
privacy concerns will subside.
6. Number of Non- Deliverable Ballots
There were no ' non- deliverable' ballots. Address- correction- requested post cards
were mailed to an registered voters before the March primary election, allowing
Yavapai County Voter Registration to update their voter registration list before
ballots were mailed. This procedure results in a cost savings since postage is much
less for postcards than it is publicity pamphlets and baHot envelopes.
