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The stage is already being set for drawn-out voting results even before Election Day wraps up.

Arizona election officials have already announced that the 2024 results could take nearly two weeks to tabulate after the last polling place closes on November 5. The two-page ballot and the anticipated tight races have Maricopa County officials saying the final results could take days – even weeks – to figure out.

“We do expect that it will take between 10 and 13 days to complete tabulation of all of the ballots that come in, but we ask for the community’s patience,” Deputy Elections Director Jennifer Liewer said. “We want to make sure that this is a secure process, but we also want to make sure that it is an accurate process.”

(Video Credit: 12 News)

Scott Jarrett, Maricopa County elections director, expects large numbers of voters to turn out or mail in their ballots.

“We are seeing a little bit of a lag of where we were in 2020 but the last few days we’ve actually seen an uptick in turnout,” he said. “So I am expecting that we will start approaching very close to those 2020 numbers.”

Assistant Maricopa County Manager Zach Schira encouraged early voting or being patient with expected lines.

“If I have one message for voters here today, it is this: that the longer ballots and higher interest in this 2024 general election will create longer lines on election day, and that’s okay,” he said. “But if you want to save time and you want to avoid those lines vote early, either in person or by mail, that’ll save you time, and it’ll help us report more results on election night.”

The county’s social media page explained: “While Maricopa County counts the vast majority of legal ballots by the end of Election Night, it’s often days before media can call certain races.”

The thread went on to note that Arizona “has laws that provide eligible voters more flexibility” and that there is a “5-day grace period for voters who did not provide sufficient ID when voting in-person, or whose early ballot signatures are questioned.”

Maricopa County’s explanation and the election officials’ warning ahead of the length of time it can take to get results prompted a wave of negative reactions on social media including from X owner Elon Musk who simply asked, “What?”

Frieda Powers
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