An Arizona election official has apparently run into an unexpected problem ahead of the 2026 midterms. Voters are wondering why President Donald Trump isn’t on their ballots. The confusion prompted Yavapai County Recorder Michelle Burchill to issue a public reminder that Americans will not be voting for president again until 2028.
In an October 30 Facebook post, Burchill addressed the growing number of questions her office had received from voters who believed the presidential race had somehow been left off their ballots. “ATTENTION VOTERS: The President is NOT on the ballot. We are receiving a lot of questions from voters who think we forgot to put that race on the ballot,” she wrote.
“The Presidential Election will be held in 2028,” she added, including a smiley face that did little to hide the unusual nature of the situation. Coincidentally, Trump visited Bullhead City, Arizona, on October 14 to campaign for Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections. During his speech, the president acknowledged that he was not running but encouraged supporters to pretend otherwise.
“Please pretend I’m on the ballot,” Trump told the crowd, arguing that his presence would help Republicans secure victories in congressional races. The 2026 midterms will determine all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and roughly one-third of the Senate, alongside numerous state and local races. The next presidential election is scheduled for 2028.
People Online Are Worried
Burchill’s announcement quickly attracted attention on social media, where commenters expressed disbelief that election officials needed to explain the difference. One Facebook commenter wrote, “Oh sweet Jesus,” while another added, “This is why we cant have nice things.”
Others were less forgiving. “If they have to be told that, they shouldn’t be allowed to vote,” one person commented. The discussion also spread to other social media platforms, where a longtime poll worker described encountering similar confusion during previous elections. Recalling a 2022 incident, the user said a voter wearing a MAGA hat and shirt became convinced there was fraud after discovering Trump was not on the ballot.
Another commenter summed up the broader frustration with a blunt observation: “We are [expletive] doomed.” Others questioned whether Trump’s campaign rhetoric had contributed to the misunderstanding, with one commenter noting that telling supporters to vote as though he were running probably did little to clear things up.
Arizona’s early voting period ended October 30, with Election Day scheduled for November 3. It remains to be seen whether a similar voter complaint or confusion from the puzzled voters will happen again on a larger scale.
