Maricopa County key to potentially record voter turnout

PHOENIX — A large increase in early voters in Maricopa County is fueling a potentially record voter turnout across the state, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.

Garrett Archer, data analyst for Secretary of State Michele Reagan, said Maricopa County had received over 975,000 early ballots as of Monday, which is 100,000 more ballots than were cast in the county during the entirety of the 2014 midterm election.

The uptick in Maricopa County could help Arizona surpass its record voter turnout for a midterm election of 60 percent in 2006, he said.

“We will certainly have a record number of total ballots cast for a midterm,” Archer told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Monday. “Turnout percentage will be close, however.

“It’s a high bar to set, but it’s trending to getting there or surpassing that.”

More than 1.58 million early votes had been cast as of Monday, which surpassed the total amount of votes cast in 2014 by about 50,000, according to Archer.

Archer has noticed an uptick in unaffiliated and women voters in every reporting day since the beginning of early balloting, which is a reason for overall voter increase in Maricopa County.

Several rural counties hadn’t hit their voter turnout marks of 2014 as of Monday.

Apache, Cochise and Coconino were among the counties that trailed their 2014 marks.

Archer wasn’t surprised and expects those counties to rebound on Election Day, which could also add to Arizona having a record voter turnout.

“Rural counties have a stronger tradition of election day voting,” Archer said.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Griselda Zetino contributed to this report.

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