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Could it take two weeks to count all Arizona ballots in the 2024 general election?

By Carmela Guaglianone
YES

Arizona officials have estimated that general election results could take about two weeks to finalize this year, which is consistent with past elections. The state’s most populous county, Maricopa, has one of the largest voting constituencies in the U.S., with roughly 2.6 million voters registered for the 2024 general election. Some races may come down to a few thousand—or even a few hundred—votes, meaning complete counts will be necessary before calling the winners.

Certain state election rules, such as those requiring that early ballots returned on Election Day be signature-verified, scanned and counted after polls close, can also slow the process. In the 2022 midterms, these so-called “late earlies” represented one-fifth of all ballots, leaving hundreds of thousands of envelopes to be processed post-election. Arizona also gives voters five days to “cure” problems with their ballots, including signature verification issues, after they are received.

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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