PHOENIX — Ballot counting started Tuesday across Arizona, 14 days before Election Day as set by a new state law.
There’s plenty to count: 1 million early ballots statewide, according to Sam Almy, who tracks early ballots on his Saguaro Strategies dashboard.
Those ballots could account for an estimated one-third of all Arizona ballots that will be cast in the 2020 election.
Here in Maricopa County, the huge swing county that makes Arizona a swing state, the combination of an earlier count and easier access to voting could produce more complete results on Election Night.
And that might shorten the wait for a winner in the races at the top of the ticket, president and U.S. Senate.
The county’s voting clout, home to more than six in every 10 votes cast in Arizona, could help decide who wins the White House and which party controls the Senate.
“We expect to have results out much quicker,” said Erika Flores, deputy communications director for the Maricopa County Elections Department.
“The early ballots that voters are dropping off at vote centers or drop boxes (now), we would like to have those counted before Election Day."
The ballot count will continue virtually nonstop through Election Day and beyond.
The 14-day head start is double the seven days that county elections offices had in 2018.
Maricopa County purchased new tabulating machines that count ballots twice as fast as older ones that are still in use.
The first election results will be reported after 8 p.m. on Election Night, at least an hour after polls close.
The first vote dump will be the early ballots counted during the preceding two weeks, Flores said.
If you want your voice to be heard in those first results, your ballot would have to be turned in by the Sunday before Election Day.
“If you’re waiting until Election Day to drop off your early ballot, then your ballot will not be part of those results that we report at 8 p.m.,” Flores said.
One other note for voters who signed up for the county’s text message alerts tracking their ballot: You won’t get an alert when your ballot is counted.
There’s a text when your signature is verified.
Once that happens, Flores said, your ballot is removed from the envelope that has your unique identifying information.
There is no identifying information on your ballot, so it can’t be tracked when it’s counted.
The verification of your ballot signature is, in effect, the message that your ballot will be counted.
You can confirm that on your voter dashboard at http://beballotready.vote.
