E-Qual Guide

What is E-Qual?

E-Qual is a free online system run by the Arizona Secretary of State's Office that allows registered voters to electronically sign candidate nominating petitions. Think of it as the digital equivalent of signing a clipboard petition at a campaign event — except you can do it from your couch.

In Arizona, every candidate for public office must collect a minimum number of petition signatures from eligible voters before they can appear on the ballot. E-Qual makes this process faster and more accessible for both candidates and voters.

What You Need Before You Start

E-Qual verifies your identity against Arizona's voter registration database. Before you log in, make sure you have the following information ready:

Step 1: Log In to E-Qual

1a

Go to the E-Qual Website

Visit apps.azsos.gov/equal in your web browser. You'll see the E-Qual home page with two main options.

The E-Qual home page — click "Sign a Candidate Nominating Petition" on the left

1b

Click "Sign a Candidate Nominating Petition"

This is the main option for most voters. The second option ("Make a Clean Elections Qualifying Contribution") is for contributing $5 to publicly funded candidates — we cover that below.

1c

Fill in the Authentication Form

You'll see a form asking for your personal information. This is used only to match you against the voter registration database — it is not shared with any candidate unless you choose to sign their petition.

The form asks for:

First Name Required

Last Name Required

Date of Birth (MM/DD/YYYY) Required

Then enter either your Driver License number or your Voter ID + SSN:

Driver License / Non-Operating ID Option A

— OR —

Voter Registration Number Option B

Last 4 of Social Security Number Option B

The voter authentication form — fill in your info and click Submit

1d

Click Submit

If your information matches your voter registration record, you'll be taken to your list of available petitions. If it doesn't match, double-check that your name and date of birth match your voter registration exactly — use my.arizona.vote to verify.

Step 2: Browse Available Petitions

After logging in, you'll see a list of all candidate petitions you're eligible to interact with. The list is organized by office and shows each candidate's name, the office they're running for, the election, their party, and the petition's status.

The petition list — candidates are grouped by office, with status indicators on the right

What You'll See

Here's an example of what the petition list looks like. Each office section has a note at the bottom telling you how many petitions you're allowed to sign for that office:

Step 3: Sign a Petition

3a

Click the Candidate's Name

Find the candidate whose petition you want to sign and click on their name. This will open the petition details page.

3b

Review the Petition

You'll see the candidate's petition information, including their contact details and the office they're seeking. Review it to make sure this is the candidate you intend to support.

3c

Confirm Your Signature

Click the button to electronically sign the petition. This is the digital equivalent of putting your signature on a paper petition sheet. Once signed, the status for that candidate will change to "Signed" in your petition list.

The petition detail page — review the candidate info, enter your email, then click the green button to sign

3d

Confirm It Worked

After signing, you'll be taken back to the petition list. The candidate you just signed for will now show a status of "Signed". Notice in the example below that Derrick Espadas now shows "Signed" while the other Corporation Commissioner candidates remain "Open":

After signing — Derrick Espadas now shows "Signed" status, confirming your signature was recorded

Understanding Status Codes

Each petition in your list has a status indicator. Here's what each one means:

Important Rules & Limits

Clean Elections Qualifying Contributions

Arizona's Clean Elections system allows candidates to run for office using public funding instead of private donations. To qualify, these candidates must collect a certain number of $5 qualifying contributions from registered voters in their district.

E-Qual provides a second option on its home page — "Make a Clean Elections Qualifying Contribution" — that lets you contribute $5 to a Clean Elections candidate electronically. This is not a donation to the candidate's campaign; it's a small contribution that helps them qualify for public funding.

Frequently Asked Questions