YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE
information to register. If a call feels wrong, hang up and call the Recorder’s Office directly at (520) 724-4330. Our Resource Line can also help you sort out whether something is legitimate. Getting to the polls, and voting without leaving home Casting a ballot should not depend on whether you drive. Several options exist, and most people do not know all of them. • Vote by mail. Any registered voter in Arizona can join the Active Early Voting List and automatically receive a ballot by mail for every election. There is no excuse or eligibility requirement. Ballots come with a postage paid return envelope, which means no line, no parking lot, and no ride to arrange. For many older adults, this is the single most practical option, and it is the one I recommend most often. • Free public transit. Sun Tran, Sun Link, Sun Van, Sun Express, Sun On Demand, and Sun Shuttle currently operate fare free by direction of the Mayor and Council. Sun Van provides curb to curb paratransit for riders certified as ADA eligible through the City of Tucson’s ADA Eligibility Office, at (520) 791-5409. Sun Shuttle Dial-a-Ride serves Green Valley, Oro Valley, and other communities outside city limits. Rides generally need to be reserved one to seven days ahead, so plan before the last week of October. • Special Election Boards. If you cannot get to a polling place or complete a ballot on your own, and you do not have someone you trust to help, two trained workers from different political parties will come to you, whether you are at home, in
disappeared survive because someone with standing said they mattered. That is not sentiment. It is arithmetic. In Pima County, older adults are a large, growing share of the electorate, and elected officials know exactly who turns out. There is a temptation, especially in a year that feels noisy and unkind, to conclude that none of it is worth the trouble. I understand the impulse. I would ask you to resist it. Stepping back does not quiet the noise. It only removes your voice from the record and leaves the decisions to people who may know very little about what it takes to age well here. You have watched this community change over decades. You know which promises were kept. You know what it costs to get to a doctor from the far east side, or from Ajo, or from Green Valley. That knowledge is not incidental to good government. It is the substance of it, and it does not enter the record unless you put it there. So, make a plan. Check your registration before October 5. Decide how you will vote and, if you need a ride or a ballot brought to you, arrange it in early October rather than the final week. Then call someone you know who may be having trouble getting there, and help them do the same. A neighbor with a working car and an hour to spare is still one of the most effective pieces of election infrastructure we have. Your vote is your voice. Use it. With respect and gratitude,
a hospital, or in a care community. Call the Recorder’s Office at (520) 724-4330 to request this. The service is limited, so call early. • A voter assistant of your choosing. Anyone unable to mark a ballot because of illness, injury, or disability may ask a friend, family member, or anyone they trust to help. The assistant signs the ballot affidavit. The ballot must reflect your choices and only yours. Arizona law does not permit voting by power of attorney. • Accessible voting devices. Every early voting site and vote center has one, always set up and ready, with no appointment needed. They offer audio instructions, large print display, adjustable contrast, and tactile controls, and ballots are available in English and Spanish. Large print voter registration forms and braille ballots are available from the Recorder’s Office on request. • Ballot drop off. Every vote center also serves as a drop off site. Beginning this year, you may show identification when you drop off an early ballot rather than waiting for a signature comparison. If any of this raises a question, call PCOA’s Resource Line at (520) 790-7262. We do not tell people how to vote and we never will. We help people find their way to the ballot. Why this matters PCOA has been part of this county since 1967, and in that time I have watched a pattern repeat itself. When older adults are present in a public conversation, the conversation changes. Budgets look different. Priorities shift. Programs that would have quietly
Robert Ojeda, PhD President & Chief Executive Officer Pima Council on Aging
Page 4 | September & October 2026, Never Too Late
Pima Council on Aging
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