PHOENIX — Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes spoke to the public Tuesday morning to give an update on the status of the 2024 General Election.
Fontes was optimistic and shared further details about the procedure but warned that voters could face long lines and long counting periods.
"Everything in the state of Arizona is running about as smoothly as could be," Fontes said. Many counties estimate they'll have around 55% of the votes counted by end of polling today.
4.36 million voters statewide in Arizona, about 120,000 more than in 2020. Fontes predicts a roughly 80% voter turnout this year, similarly to 2020.
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As of 6:20 a.m., all polling locations were open. There was one issue where someone forgot to bring a key to open a location in Maricopa County, and one location in Mohave County briefly lost power, Fontes said.
Observers in voting locations are authorized only if they're credentialed by their county's political party chairperson and must present those credentials at their assigned location.
"We will have our numbers, as always, 10 to 13 days after Election Day because we want to get it right the first time," Fontes said. He stressed that media outlets like the Associated Press will often call elections based on projections and not the final count.
Fontes noted that Arizona's threshold for an automatic recount has been lowered this year, meaning that some tight races could require recounts.
For more information on voting, you can visit Arizona.vote.
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