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The deadline to register to vote in next month's presidential primary in Arizona is midnight on Monday, Feb. 22. Only voters signed up with the Democratic, Republican or Green parties will be able to cast ballots as the state has its say in the nomination process.

Independent voters will not be eligible to vote. What the state calls a "presidential preference election" is closed to all but registered members of political parties who are fielding candidates in the state.

There is no primary for a Libertarian candidate in the state this year, as no party representatives filed to appear on the ballot.

You can check your registration status, register to vote or change parties at ServiceArizona.com.

"It's important to remember, Arizona's 'open primary' provisions do not apply to the presidential preference election," Secretary of State Michele Reagan said last month.

"There is a difference. The results of the PPE are non-binding, meaning the winner in Arizona may not necessarily be the candidate running in the general election in November," said Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodrigeuz. "The Arizona open primary law does not apply to this election."

Despite the limitation, voters not associated with the major political parties make up a larger bloc of Arizona voters than those who are registered with any of the four recognized parties in the state.

The number of registered voters in Arizona declined by about 45,000 since the last report by the Secretary of State's Office in October, to 3,254,000 at the end of January. County elections officials pruned voter rolls after the November elections.

Officials said they expected to see a bump in overall registration because of the upcoming election.

Of those voters already registered, about 37 percent are not members of one of the recognized parties. About 34 percent are Republicans, 28 percent are Democrats, and the Libertarian and Green parties each account for about one percent of voters.

Across the state, there are 1,201,030 voters who are not members of the recognized parties. That includes "non-party voters" and members of parties that aren't recognized for ballot access.

The Americans Elect party lost ballot status after the November election, with only 500 voters statewide in the October report.

There were 1,115,496 Republicans in Arizona, with 147,331 of them in Pima County. Democrats had 917,411 registered members in the January report, with 172,246 in Pima County.

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