How long will it be before Arizona counties tally their final election results?

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Election officials continue to work day after day, counting and verifying every ballot.

“They put those ballots through signature verification and then send them to a bipartisan board that works together to open them. They make sure that the ballot is not damaged. They process those ballots and then send them out to be tabulated,” said Gina Roberts, director of voter education at Clean Arizona Election Commission.

As of Wednesday evening Maricopa County Recorder processed 1,499,131 ballots, representing approximately 57.94% of eligible voters.

The results at that time were ballots received through mid-Wednesday, October 30th.

Although projections have been made for critical races, Arizona law prevents county officials from releasing results until Nov. 11 at the earliest.

“There is a very, very good chance that the vote total could change. In fact, we have seen in the past that sometimes the media have had to retract their claims about the winner,” Roberts said.

So why does it take officials so long to announce the winner? The first batch on Election Day consists of early voting ballots that have already been returned, processed and tabulated prior to that day.

Throughout the night, poll workers complete closing procedures, and election results tallied at the polls are delivered back to the county and released periodically.

After Nov. 5, election officials process all early voting ballots returned on Election Day before they can be tabulated.

Like any other early voting ballot returned before Election Day, the county must verify the voter’s identity through signature verification.

This is why all early voting ballots sent on Election Day cannot be processed and tabulated until after that happens. This process could take several days, depending on how many voters decide to return their early voting ballots that day.

In addition, counties must complete necessary post-election procedures to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the election. This includes reviewing chain of custody records, audit trails, post-Election Day logic, and testing the accuracy of tabulation machines.

Political parties also conduct random hand counting of ballots.

Nov. 10 is the last day voters can verify their identity if they cast a provisional ballot at the polls on Election Day, or verify their signature on an early ballot affidavit if the county was unable to verify their signature and verify the voter’s identity.

The following day is the first day that counties can canvass the election and officially announce and certify election results.

At this point, counties have 10 days to announce the winner and tally the results.

For statewide elections, the process takes even longer.

“Once our 15 counties complete this process, they will send the election results to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office. Then they hold a public meeting where they add up the results from all of our 15 counties to get the statewide results,” Roberts said.

The Secretary of State’s Office then has until Nov. 25 to canvass the statewide election results.

While it’s a lengthy process, Roberts said these laws and procedures are designed to protect the accuracy and integrity of the vote count.

In the meantime, voters can make sure their ballots have been counted. by visiting the state’s voter information portal..

Valley residents can also track your ballot. on the Maricopa County elections website

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