A Scottsdale woman was in for the shock of her life when her voter registration card came back listing her with the wrong party.
Michelle Strathan identifies as a Democrat.
“I’m a born Democrat,” she said.
Back in June, she went to renew her driver’s license and her voter registration at the MVD.
“I filled the form out, I said I am a Democrat; yes. I’m a United States citizen…” Strathan said. “…Six weeks later I get this form in – this little card, and now I’m no longer a Democrat, I’m a Republican.”
The card had the three letters REP instead of DEM.
"I went ballistic, and so I started calling different folk starting with the register’s office,” she added. “I wanted to get to the bottom of this. This is unacceptable.”
She spoke to the Mary Fuentes, the Voter Registration Director with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office. The issue was fixed, and Strathan received a letter in the mail that showed the correction and that she was now listed as a Democrat.
“This is a major issue, and it affects everybody in Arizona, especially those going to the MVD and having their affiliations changed,” said Strathan.
Fuentes told ABC15 the mix up was likely human error. It was not intentional; with 2.2 million voters mistakes are likely to happen.
She recommends following if your voter registration comes back to you with the wrong party affiliation.
Be vigilant and double check your paperwork.
Check your card when you receive it to make sure the right party is listed. Ask for a receipt at the MVD; your party affiliation will be listed on there.
You can also go online to Maricopa County's website or the Secretary of State’s office to check your information.
If you need/want to change your party affiliation, you can reregister online, by mail, or in person at your local recorder’s office or MVD.
Finally, let the recorder’s office know of any mistakes so they can get it fixed as fast as possible.
Any requests for corrections should be made 29 days before elections and before the primaries.
