Even though neighboring Nevada declared Donald Trump the winner overnight, Arizona continues to play a tense game awaiting Saturday’s election results, making it one of the battleground states to open after Election Day on Nov. 5. He gave six of the seven states to the next president.
By Saturday morning, the official count in Arizona was 83% complete, with Trump leading 52.7% and Harris 46%, with a difference of about 180,000 votes. But as of late Friday night, 602,000 votes remained uncounted and the state remained undeclared. In 2020, the state sensationally swung to Joe Biden and the Democratic Party.
In the crucial Senate race between Republican Kali Lake and Democrat Ruben Gallego, Lake, who has always denied that Biden won the White House fairly in 2020, led the Democrat by 48.5% as of mid-morning. He had a lead of 49.5%, or about 33,000 votes. Saturday.
The primary election for the seat began after Kyrsten Sinema, who was elected as a Democrat in 2018, became an independent and announced that she would not seek re-election this year.
The nation is watching whether Democrats can flip the House majority in Washington, D.C., including the 6th Congressional District battle between incumbent Republican Juan Siscomani and Democratic challenger Kirsten Engel. , and other Arizona elections remain close.
The delay in coverage of the race is largely due to Maricopa County, the fourth largest county in the United States, which includes the state capital Phoenix. The county reported Friday evening that it had 351,000 uncounted ballots. Some have yet to take the first step of verifying the voter’s signature on the outside of the envelope. Officials expected vote counting to last 10 to 13 days after Election Day.
The time it takes to count the ballots is partially explained by the length of the two-page ballot itself, which requires election workers to separate the two sheets from the mailing envelope, lay them flat, and check for damage. It is said that it is taking nearly twice as long as usual to confirm. Go to the voting beat.
In Cochise County, a mechanical issue with the tally machine slowed it down.
Part of the problem in the state is “early/late” voting, according to The Arizona Republic. That means completed early ballots won’t be mailed in for counting until Election Day.
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“A significant number of voters vote early and they leave it on their kitchen counter for about three weeks,” state Rep. Alexander Kolodin told AZ Central.
Kolodin, a Republican, is considering requiring early ballots to be returned before Election Day to give election officials time to go through the verification process.
However, amid heightened security concerns in Arizona amid concerns about violence, Maricopa County has so far seen no recurrence of unrest over vote counting or long-running disputes after the 2020 election, and poll workers There was also no allegation of intimidation by.
