To the voters of Arizona They have no shortage of competitive races to resolve in the general elections on November 5, with control of the White House, the US Senate and House of Representatives and both chambers of the state Legislature hanging in the balance.
Arizona remains a major electoral battleground four years agoafter the president Joe Biden became the second Democratic presidential candidate to win in this state in almost 70 years.
​Dispute between Trump and Kamala
ANDIt’s one of the four states of the Belt of the Sun of the country that has attracted much of the attention of both campaigns presidential elections in the final stretch towards election day.
The Democratic Vice President, Kamala Harrisand the former Republican president, donald trumpare in a tight race for the state’s 16 Electoral College votes. They and their running mates have made multiple campaign stops there since securing their parties’ nominations over the summer.
Other competitive races include the U.S. Senate race, where Democrat Ruben Gallego and Republican Kari Lake are running to replace outgoing independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, and two Republican seats in the United States House of Representatives in Phoenix-area and Tucson-area districts who opted for Biden in 2020.
In the state Legislature, Democrats hope to take the state Senate for the first time since 1992; and with the state House of Representatives for the first time since 1966, the last time the party controlled the governorship and both chambers simultaneously.
Voters will also decide high-profile statewide ballot measures on abortion, immigration and two competing ballot measures that would require or eliminate the use of partisan primaries in state elections.
According to the state constitution, if two contradictory ballot measures are approved, the one with the most votes in favor will become law, although the matter is likely to go through the courts first.
Here’s a look at what to expect in the Arizona elections:
- On election day: On November 5th.
- Polls closing time: 9:00 p.m. ET. Arizona does not release votes until all precincts have reported or one hour after all polls close, whichever comes first, usually 10:00 p.m. ET.
- Electoral College votes for the presidential race: 11 votes, assigned to the state winner.
- Electoral measures: Proposition 133 (Partisan Primary Elections), Proposition 139 (Right to Abortion), Proposition 140 (Open Primary Elections), Proposition 314 (Establish Criminal Penalties for Unauthorized Border Crossings).
- Other contests: For the state Senate, the state House of Representatives, the Arizona Corporation Commission.
The main contests:
- Presidential: Harris (D) vs. Trump (R) vs. Chase Oliver (Libertarian) vs. Jill Stein (Green).
- Federal Senate: Ruben Gallego (D) vs. Kari Lake (R) and another.
- 1st Congressional District: Amish Shah (D) vs. David Schweikert (R).
- 6th Congressional District: Kirsten Engel (D) vs. Juan Ciscomani (R) and one other.
What role does Arizona play in the US elections?
In Arizona, Ballots issued and processed before Election Day are the first to be reported after the polls close.
These votes have tended to favor Democrats, since the question of Early and mail-in voting became highly politicized during the 2020 election.
In the 2022 US Senate elections, Democrat Mark Kelly He started the night with a nearly 20-point lead over Republican Blake Mastersbut that lead was reduced to about five points when the results were certified.
Mail-in votes delivered on Election Day take much longer to tabulate because poll workers don’t begin processing or verifying them until after the polls close. In Maricopa County, which has the largest population in the state, About 20% of the nearly 1.6 million votes cast in 2022 were mail-in votes delivered on Election Day.
Maricopa County is by far the most influential of the state’s 15 counties in state elections. It is home to Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa and contributed nearly 62% of the votes in the 2020 presidential race. Pima County came in a distant second with about 15% of the vote.
In state elections dating back a dozen years, Democrats have consistently carried four counties in both winning and losing campaigns: Apache, Coconino, Pima and Santa Cruz.
In each of those races, the candidate who won in Maricopa won the entire state. Maricopa is also one of 10 counties in the seven battleground states that went from Trump to Biden.
In Arizona, recounts are automatic if the vote margin is equal to or less than 0.5% of the total votes. The AP can declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine that the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the result.
Results of past presidential races
- 2020: Biden (D) 49.4%, Trump (R) 49.1%, AP declared the winner on Wednesday, November 4 at 2:51 a.m. ET.
Registered voters: 4 million 109 thousand 270 (until July 30, 2024). About 29% Democrats, 35% Republicans, and 36% other.
Electoral participation:
- It was 71% of registered voters in 2020.
- Votes cast before Election Day in 2020: approximately 89% of all votes.
- Votes cast before Election Day in 2022: approximately 82% of all votes.
How long does the vote count take?
The first votes reported on November 3, 2020: 10:02 p.m. ET.
By midnight ET: 72% of all votes cast had been reported.
RM
