Arizona Senate race still undecided as election officials release more ballots
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Election workers sort early ballots for signature verification prior to tabulation inside the Maricopa County recorder's office on Tuesday in Phoenix.Matt York / AP -
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates answers a question about the election and the process of counting votes during a news conference at in Phoenix Thursday.Ross D. Franklin / AP
Vote counting centers in Arizona are working full speed ahead on the tabulation of votes to determine key statewide races. Hanging in the balance is the fate of the U.S. Senate as both Republicans and Democrats are trying to gain greater control of the chamber.
Maricopa County, which has the largest share of voters in the state, faced record breaking day-of ballot drop offs, which is contributing to the long counting process. But officials are pushing back against conspiracy theories that the process is being delayed.
Late Thursday, officials released the latest numbers showing that more than 300,000 ballots still need to be counted. In Pima County, the second largest county, more than 100,000 ballots are still outstanding.
Why delays are expected
In Arizona voters have three ways to vote: mail in, drop off and in person. And voters have the option to turn in the ballot mailed to them on Election Day itself.
According to election officials, state law requires all mail in and drop off ballots to be individually signature verified. Then those ballots have to go through a bipartisan processing board, which is a team of two people that check the ballot. Once that's complete, it goes into tabulation.
By the numbers, Maricopa County experienced a record number of these ballots. On Election Day itself, more than 290,000 voters dropped a ballot off at a polling location as opposed to voting in person or mailing it in. That is 100,000 more than in 2020, which held the most recent record.
These day-of drop off ballots are the majority of those that remain to be counted.
GOP criticisms continue
Both former President Donald Trump and GOP candidate for governor Kari Lake have accused Maricopa officials of delaying the process.
Arizona was the center of some of the election conspiracy theories to come out of the 2020 election that falsely claimed the election was stolen from Trump. Election deniers who echoed those claims fared well in the GOP primary elections earlier this year. All three Republican candidates at the top of the ticket spread falsehoods about 2020.
It therefore has not surprised election officials in Arizona that Lake is now accusing them of delaying or stalling the release of results.
"Quite frankly, it is offensive for Kari Lake to say that these people behind me are slow rolling this when they're working 14 to 18 hours," said Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates. "I really hope that this is the end of that now, we can be patient and respect the results when they come out."
The count must go on, even amid threats
In 2020, protesters turned out to protest at the Maricopa County vote counting center, leading officials to take extra precautions this year. Though few protesters have come by the center, Gates told reporters threats have continued for members of the elections board.
"That is now a way of life for me and my colleagues," he explained. "It shouldn't be for all the election workers and election officials across the country, but that is now a way of life."
When asked what he would say to those making threats against him and other election workers, he invoked his own family to send a message.
"I would have them just stop for a second and think about my grandpa. My grandpa was a World War II veteran who was in Europe," Gates said. "He was not fighting for their right to pick up a phone or type in a text threatening someone's life. He was fighting for the right of each and every one of us to vote and select our own leaders. So my grandpa would not be cool with that."
Officials first hoped to have up to 95% of ballots counted by Friday. With updated counts, they expect tabulation to bleed into the weekend.
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Transcript
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
There is so much attention on Arizona right now. Election officials there are methodically counting votes while they fight off criticism about how long it is taking. It's one of three states with undecided Senate races, the outcomes of which will determine which party controls the chamber in the next Congress. There are other close races in Arizona, too - some House seats, a governor's race that has gotten national attention and a few other statewide offices, including secretary of state, which will oversee the next election. NPR politics reporter Ximena Bustillo is in Phoenix and joins us now.
Thanks so much for being here.
XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Thank you.
MARTIN: Just give us the latest, Ximena.
BUSTILLO: Sure. Maricopa County, the county with the largest share of voters that also encompasses Phoenix, closed out on Thursday with more than 300,000 ballots left to count. Here's what happened. A lot of people voted, and a lot of people did so by taking the ballot mailed to them and dropping it off at a polling location on Election Day instead of mailing it in or dropping it off earlier. Those are many of the ballots left to be counted. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot - 290,000, in fact.
And this is a historic number of those Election Day drop-offs, 100,000 more ballots than Election Day 2020, which held the previous record. Now those ballots go through a multistep process until they can be counted. And that all just takes time.
MARTIN: Right. But that opens the door to conspiracy theories, right?
BUSTILLO: Well, election officials have been working even since before Election Day to ward off concerns of election tampering or fraud. Election deniers performed well in the GOP primary, and the top statewide candidates for Senate, governor and secretary of state all echo false claims of election fraud in 2020. Because it's been a major theme of the election this time around, it's no surprise that some candidates, like Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, have accused officials of delaying and stalling the results right now.
Bill Gates, the top Maricopa County election official, told reporters that the long wait for final tallies is not new, and he is tired of the criticism.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BILL GATES: And quite frankly, it is offensive for Kari Lake to say that these people behind me are slow rolling this when they're working 14 to 18 hours. So I really hope this is the end of that now; we can be patient and respect the results when they come out.
BUSTILLO: And it is true that counting ballots, which is different than calling an election, usually bleeds into the week after Election Day. Even then, in 2018, the Associated Press called the race for Senator Kyrsten Sinema nearly a week later.
MARTIN: So given that all this is going as it normally should go, what can we expect over the next two days?
BUSTILLO: We can expect to keep waiting. County officials have not given an estimate for when all the ballots will be done. They are releasing one batch of ballot counts each evening. So that is why you may be seeing updates come slowly. Plus, even though Maricopa is the biggest county, Pima County, where Tucson is, also has more than 100,000 outstanding ballots. Election officials are urging everyone to be patient. So far, there haven't been any signs of unrest, as some had feared. Still, though, election workers are taking some heat. Here's Gates again talking about threats they've faced.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GATES: And that threat level is continuing. And that's - that is now a part of life for me and my colleagues. And it shouldn't be, and it shouldn't be for all the elections workers and election officials across the country. But that's now a way of life.
BUSTILLO: As for why this is taking this long, look, officials made a point to name other states that are still tabulating results, and there are several outstanding House races anyways.
MARTIN: NPR's Ximena Bustillo. Thank you so much. We appreciate it.
BUSTILLO: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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