Officials in Maricopa County, Arizona, are warning that it may take 10 to 13 days to finish tabulating the results of the election in the county. This comes from Maricopa County Deputy Elections Director Jennifer Liewer, who called for “the community’s patience” when it comes to tabulating election results.
“We want to make sure that this is a secure process, but we also want to make sure that it is an accurate process,” Liewer said.
Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates said the tabulation may take so long because the ballot is two pages, there are dozens of contests per ballot, and there is heightened interest in the presidential election. He said more than 2.1 million Maricopa voters are expected to cast their ballot for the Nov. 5 contest, noting that 400,000 people so far have voted.
The “top message for voters” on Oct. 22 is “if you want to save time and avoid lines, vote early,” the county wrote on social media platform X.
Assistant Maricopa County Manager Zach Schira warned voters about the potential for longer 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.”
To help streamline operations, election officials are increasing staffing, adding high-speed tabulators, and encouraging in-person voting on Election Day instead of dropping off early ballots.
Hellbound and Down 