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Will the vote count be finished on Election Day in Arizona?

By Jordan Gerard
NO

All votes will not be counted by the end of Election Day because early ballots returned that day will not be signature verified and tabulated until the next day. The timing of results will depend on the number of votes returned close to the deadline. 

Votes counted before election night include mailed ballots that are submitted by the early voting deadline and early votes that are cast in-person. Ten states, including Arizona, begin counting mail-in ballots prior to Election Day.

Ballots must be cast or returned to a vote center by 7 p.m. on Election Day. The first batches of election results are updated after 8 p.m. that day, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

Election results are not official until certified by the Arizona Secretary of State’s office for state elections, and by the county board of supervisors for county elections.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.
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