Thu Nov 07 11:20:00 UTC 2024: ## Arizona Election Officials Continue Count, Results Not Expected Until November 11th

PHOENIX – While election night results are eagerly anticipated, Arizona voters will have to wait a little longer for official results. The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office is currently processing ballots, with 1,499,131 ballots already counted, representing 57.94% of eligible voters.

Despite projections by some media outlets, Arizona law prohibits counties from declaring winners until November 11th at the earliest. Gina Roberts, the voter education director with the Arizona Clean Elections Commission, emphasized the possibility of changing vote totals, noting that media outlets have retracted declarations of winners in the past.

The lengthy process stems from several factors:

* **Early ballots:** Early ballots already returned are processed and tabulated before Election Day.
* **Poll worker procedures:** Election night results from poll workers are delivered and released periodically.
* **Verification:** All early ballots received on Election Day must undergo signature verification, a process that can take several days.
* **Post-election procedures:** Counties perform rigorous checks to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the election, including audits, chain of custody reviews, and machine accuracy testing.
* **Political party verification:** Political parties perform random hand counts of ballots.
* **Conditional and Provisional ballots:** Voters have until November 10th to verify their identity if they cast conditional or provisional ballots.
* **County canvassing:** Counties can officially declare and adopt election results starting November 11th, with a 10-day window to finalize results.
* **Statewide canvassing:** After counties complete their canvassing, the Arizona Secretary of State’s office aggregates results from all 15 counties and holds a public meeting to announce statewide results. This process must be completed by November 25th.

While the process is lengthy, Roberts assures voters that these procedures are in place to protect the accuracy and integrity of the vote count. Voters can verify their ballot was counted through the state’s Voter Information Portal or the Maricopa County Elections website.

Read More