Maricopa County turns to ballot count after ‘flawless’ Election Day, supervisor says

Although Election Day is over, Maricopa County officials are working to count how many mail ballots were dropped off on Tuesday, as well as what still needs to be processed.

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chair Kate Brophy McGee told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Wednesday that officials are working on signature verification and vote tabulation.

“The big unknown are what are called the late early,” Brophy McGee said, referring to mail ballots returned on Election Day. “That’s the universe of ballots where we don’t really have results.”

What happens to mail ballots dropped off on Election Day?

Brophy McGee said the recorder’s office is focused on verifying signatures on early ballots that voters dropped off, while the Board of Supervisors’ elections staff is responsible for counting votes and compiling results.

“Now the recorder is focused on verifying signatures for the early ballots that were dropped off,” she said. “We are focused on tabulating and collecting those results and getting set for the canvass on the 18th.”

Despite disagreements between the recorder’s office and the board, Brophy McGee said their staffs worked well together as responsibilities transitioned from early voting to Election Day operations.

She did not provide a firm date for completing the count. The board is scheduled to canvass the election results Nov. 18.

Brophy McGee says a new voting option could help speed up results

This year, voters who received a mail ballot had the option to bring it to a vote center, show identification and feed it into an on-site tabulator. The county said ballots cast through that process would be included in election-night results.

While Maricopa County officials don’t yet have a percentage for how many voters used this option, Brophy McGee said early reports indicated substantial interest.

“What this will do is speed up our count so we can have final results much more quickly than we have otherwise,” she said.

The option allows voters to research candidates and ballot measures at home while still returning their ballot in person and watching it go into a tabulator.

Brophy McGee says Election Day ran smoothly

Brophy McGee described Tuesday’s voting operations as “absolutely flawless,” saying the county’s focus was providing a smooth experience for voters.

She said voting locations opened on time and a power outage at one metro Phoenix polling place was resolved before it opened.

“Any of the glitches, quote unquote, were managed and did not impact the voter experience,” she said.

She credited election workers and employees from other county departments who helped staff the operation.

“It truly was an all-of-county approach,” Brophy McGee said. “We all want our voters to have an ideal voting experience. We all want our elections to succeed, and I think we did that.”

After the Nov. 18 canvass, she said, officials will review what worked and what needs improvement.

“They don’t sit back on their laurels,” she said. “They say, ‘Okay, what worked? What didn’t work? What can we do better?'”

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