Mariana Dale/KJZZ

An Arizona mail-in ballot.

With the upcoming general election and growing concerns over the U.S. Postal Service, KJZZ listener Karen Davis asked through our Q&AZ project if she can get a receipt if she mails her ballot through the post office or have it delivered through certified mail.

The general election is on Nov. 3, but Maricopa County recommends sending in your mail-in ballot six to seven days prior to Election Day, according to Erika Flores with the Maricopa County Elections Department.

There are several ways to see if your ballot was delivered and counted. When sent through the post office, voters can track their ballot at beballotready.vote or check their ballot status at ballotstatus.maricopa.vote to see if it has been counted. They also can get text and email alerts which updates voters on their mailed ballot every step of the way.

All election mail is already certified as prepaid first class mail, there is no need for additional postage. Ballots must be mailed in the green affidavit envelope with the voter's signature or it cannot be counted.

All early ballots are signature verified. If a signature discrepancy arises. the elections department will contact a voter by mail, email and phone. State law allows voters five days after the election to verify their signature is correct.

The Maricopa County Recorder’s Officer received over 800,000 mail-in ballots for the primary election on Aug. 4.  According to Flores, fewer than 1% of those ballots were not counted for reasons including a signature discrepancy, no signature on the envelope and the ballot being received after the 7 p.m. deadline on Election Day.