[US Election 2024]
In Arizona, one of the key battleground states in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, the voting and counting procedures are so complex that it is expected to take up to 13 days to announce the election results.
According to the Associated Press (AP) and The Washington Post (WP) on the 31st (local time), election officials in Arizona anticipate that it will take up to 13 days to complete both the counting and tabulation in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, the largest city in the area.
Maricopa County is larger than many U.S. states and is home to a large population of 4.5 million people. Due to the high number of voters, long lines are expected on election day, November 5. Since voters who are in line at the closing time are allowed to vote, authorities expect delays starting from when all these voters finish and the counting begins.
Due to Arizona’s vast area, the proportion of mail-in ballots is high, and they are accepted until election day, November 5. This means the start of mail-in ballot counting is later than in other states that close mail-in ballot reception the day before and prepare for counting.
Mail-in ballots require a lengthy preparation process. Before tallying votes, envelopes must be scanned, ballots sorted, and voter signatures verified for validity. During the 2022 midterm elections, 293,000 mail-in ballots?equivalent to one-fifth of all voters in Maricopa?were received on election day, causing delays in counting.
AP reported that Arizona state law allows voters up to five days after election day to correct ballots with signature or other minor issues, which also contributes to the extended time needed to finalize the count.
WP pointed out that the lengthy ballot in Maricopa County could also delay the counting process. The ballot consists of two sheets of paper measuring 17 inches (43 cm) vertically and 8.5 inches (22 cm) horizontally, and includes 13 items voted on at the state level, such as the presidential election, retention of judges running for re-election, and laws related to abortion, taxes, and illegal immigration.
The lengthy ballot not only delays the time voters spend voting but can also cause errors during machine tabulation. There is also concern about missing ballots. Authorities plan to place ballots that cannot be machine-tabulated into separate collection boxes, which WP fears could lead to conspiracy theories about election fraud.
Former President Trump claimed he won Arizona in the 2020 presidential election and did not accept the counting results.
In Maricopa County, the Republican Party had continuously won presidential elections since 2000 until 2016, when Republican Donald Trump narrowly defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden won by a margin of just 11,000 votes.
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