On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, Maricopa County will open 254 polling places, operating from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Officials assured reporters at a Monday news conference that voters will be able to cast ballots without intimidation.
Jennifer Liewer, the county’s deputy elections director, said residents can be confident they will be able to vote peacefully. The county has more than 2.5 million registered voters. Before 2024 there were 223 polling places; now there are more, because additional residents have made their facilities available. Locations and wait times at individual sites are available on the Maricopa County Elections website.
About 1 million ballots had arrived by Monday, and about 950,000 had already been counted. On Tuesday, the county expects about 250,000 people to vote in person. About as many voters are expected to turn in ballots received by mail that day. In-person voting typically accounts for 10% to 15% of all votes. More than 4,000 people will work at the polls, and more than 800 at the vote-counting center.
The county will release the first results, covering mail ballots received before Oct. 31, at 8 p.m., an hour after polls close. Further updates are planned twice a day, in the early and late evening. Liewer cautioned that in very close races, results may not be announced until Sunday or Monday.
Frank McWilliams, the county’s director of emergency management and security services, said the county is coordinating with law enforcement at the local, state and federal levels. He added that there will be no visible armed presence at polling places, so as not to discourage voters. The U.S. Department of Justice will send election monitors to the county. According to Liewer, the county views this as a gesture of goodwill from the federal government. Speculation continues about a possible presence of ICE immigration agents at polling places, but the source materials did not confirm any such plans.
Weekend downpours did not disrupt preparations. On Monday morning, two sites, at Paradise Valley Community College and Sunset Canyon Elementary School, were briefly closed because of power problems and reopened before noon. Access roads, including in the Rio Verde Foothills area, were expected to be passable until late Monday. Kate Brophy McGee, chair of the county Board of Supervisors, urged people to treat election workers with kindness.
Source: Phoenix New Times, Arizona Mirror, Cronkite News
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