PHOENIX, AZ – During the July 21, Primary Election, poll workers at the Heber-Overgaard polling location discovered approximately 3,000 blank ballots from the 2024 General Election. The ballots were found in shrink-wrapped packages inside a storage tub in a closet at the county facility, which is used primarily as a Navajo County Sheriff’s Office substation.

The ballots remained unused and sealed in their shrink-wrapped packages. They contained no voter selections, were never cast, and were never tabulated. They therefore did not affect any votes, tabulated results, or the outcome of any contest in the 2024 General Election.

Although the ballots had no effect on the election results, their discovery revealed a failure in the procedures used to account for and return unused ballots.

At the close of voting, poll workers are required to reconcile the number of ballots cast, damaged or spoiled, and unused with the total number of ballots issued to the precinct. Unused ballots must then be returned with other election materials to the tabulation center, where the totals are verified.

The signed reconciliation form from the Heber-Overgaard polling location reported that all ballots issued to the precinct had been accounted for. The discovery of the unused ballots at the polling location establishes that the ballots were not returned as required and that the discrepancy was not identified during the post-election verification process.

“No votes or election results were affected because these ballots remained blank, unused, and sealed,” County Manager Bryan Layton said. “Nevertheless, this was a serious procedural failure. We are investigating how it occurred, why the required safeguards did not identify it, and what changes are necessary to reduce the likelihood of anything similar happening again.”

Navajo County has secured the discovered ballots and is preserving the relevant records and materials. The County is conducting an administrative review of ballot inventory, chain-of-custody, reconciliation, and return procedures. The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office has also been requested to assist in the administrative review of the circumstances surrounding the ballots’ presence at the facility.

Immediate corrective measures include:

* Assigning a new dedicated verification team to confirm the physical return and reconciliation of ballots following each election.

* Strengthening poll-worker training and ballot-accounting checklists.

* Requiring documented verification that the number of ballots physically returned matches the precinct reconciliation records.

* Reviewing supervisory and post-election controls to identify and correct any additional gaps.

Navajo County takes its responsibility to safeguard elections seriously. The County will provide additional information when the investigation and administrative review are completed, consistent with applicable law.

Navajo County remains committed to accurate elections, transparent government, and continuous improvement of its election procedures.