Electrical beam scanning is a feature enabling an antenna array to electrically control its main beam toward a desired direction. In this paper, a three-phase state element for electronically reconfigurable transmitarrays is presented. The element is made up of C-patches and modified ring slots loaded rectangular gaps. By controlling the bias state of four p-i-n diodes, three phase states are obtained. The dimension of the element is optimized by using full-wave EM simulation and performance of the element is validated by both simulation and an experimental waveguide system. A transmitarrayconsistingof12×12elementshasbeensimulated to validate the steering capabilities. Experimental results indicate the element has good characteristics and excellent phase change capabilities.