Monday, Nov. 4, 2024
Could it take two weeks to count all Arizona ballots in the 2024 general election?
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.
Correction: A prior version of this brief misstated the scope of “late earlies” in the 2022 midterms.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Arizona Secretary of State State Voter Registration October 2024
- AP News We may not know who won on Election Day. Maricopa County may be why
- Citizens Clean Elections Commission How Votes Are Counted
- Arizona Legislature Receipt of voter's ballot; cure period; tracking system
- Arizona Legislature Early ballots; processing; challenges
- Maricopa County Elections Department Arizona Election Law Reform Proposals by Stephen Richer Maricopa County Recorder 2023
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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
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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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