Quartzsite Opens Nomination Filing for Feb. 23, 2026 Primary After HB2022

The Town of Quartzsite posted its official election calendar and opened the nomination petition filing period for the local primary beginning on February 23, 2026, the town’s elections page said. The town’s announcement lists the filing start date and corresponding deadlines for candidates; the public excerpt provided by the town was truncated and did not include a full candidate filing deadline in the posted text.

State law changes enacted earlier this month altered Arizona’s statewide timeline. HB2022 was signed into law on February 6, 2026 with an emergency clause and “move[d] the Primary Election date up by two weeks,” a county election notice stated. Legal analysts at Snell & Wilmer wrote that “As a result of the new July 21, 2026, primary election date, the filing period for partisan primary candidates began on February 21, 2026, and ends on March 23, 2026.”

The Snell & Wilmer analysis spelled out protections and limits the new law creates for candidates. “Importantly, although HB 2022 will allow petitions to be filed with the incorrect August 4 primary election date, it provides no relief for petitions filed after the new March 23, 2026, deadline,” the firm wrote. The attorneys also advised that “candidates are not required to discard petitions bearing the old date or restart their collection efforts with updated forms” and that candidates “need not file a new or amended statement of interest based solely on the change in the 2026 primary election date.”

Local election offices have published updated, sometimes different, calendars. Cochise County’s Elections Department published an updated 2026 primary timeline listing a Candidate Filing Deadline of March 23, UOCAVA deadline June 6, Last Day to Register to Vote June 22, Early Voting Begins June 24, Early Ballots Mailed June 24, Last Day to Request a Mail-In Ballot July 10, and Election Day July 21. Cochise’s notice urged that “voters are encouraged to review these updated dates carefully to ensure they meet all applicable deadlines” and directed questions to the Elections Department at 520-432-8970.

Other jurisdictions have posted alternate schedules. On February 9 the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder posted that the Candidate Nomination Filing Period is open for a June 2, 2026 Statewide Direct Primary and that candidates must file and return completed paperwork to the county headquarters by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 6. Those jurisdictional differences mean deadlines vary depending on the type of primary and the local election authority.

For Quartzsite candidates and voters the practical steps are specific: the town has announced the Feb. 23 filing opening, HB2022 was signed Feb. 6 and shifts many Arizona timelines, and county-level materials list March 23 and other dates as firm deadlines. Candidates who gathered signatures before Feb. 6 are explicitly protected from form-date errors but must still submit petitions by the applicable filing deadline for their jurisdiction. Contact the Town of Quartzsite elections page for the town’s full calendar and contact Cochise County Elections at 520-432-8970 to confirm whether March 23 or another deadline applies to a given contest.