Live blog: Election Day voting finishes in battleground Arizona

PHOENIX – The end of an often combative political campaign season is in sight for Arizona voters as polls opened early on Election Day.

In-person voting began Tuesday at 6 a.m. in the Grand Canyon State. Polls across Arizona closed at 7 p.m. Anybody in line by that time had the right to cast a ballot.

Recent polling showed Republican incumbents President Donald Trump and Sen. Martha McSally trailing Democrat challengers Joe Biden and newcomer Mark Kelly.

As of late Monday morning, the Arizona Secretary of State reported 2.63 million early ballots had been accepted and processed by the 15 counties. Arizonans dropped a total of 2.66 millions ballots in 2016’s general election.

It’s Election Day! The polls open at 6 a.m. With Vote Centers across the county, find a location that’s convenient for you at https://t.co/8YEmXbWyRL. pic.twitter.com/1N0lmw5TmQ

— Maricopa County Elections Department (@MaricopaVote) November 3, 2020

7:00 p.m.

Polls have closed across Arizona.

Voters who were in line by 7 p.m. will be able to stay and submit their selections despite time being expired.

The lines are growing here at the Environmental Education Center in Chandler. @KTAR923 pic.twitter.com/ziHTH8tL2D

— Griselda Zetino (@GriseldaZetino) November 4, 2020

6:00 p.m.

More than 155,000 voters have cast their ballots in person on Election Day.

Polls close in Arizona in an hour.

UPDATE: More than 155K in-person ballots have been cast, so far in Maricopa County.

You have one hour to vote before polls close at 7 p.m. and if you’re in line stay in line. You’ll be able to vote even if it goes past 7 p.m. pic.twitter.com/DFsoYlmBYw

— Gabriel Gamiño, MA (@gaminogabriel) November 4, 2020

1:45 p.m.

Only one Maricopa County voting center had a wait longer than 14 minutes as the eighth hour of voting came to a close, according to the county elections website.

That was the polling location at Surprise City Hall, which had a 30-minute wait with 117 people in line.

Find a location near you and the latest wait times here.

1:14 p.m.

More than 9,600 Phoenix-area voters have cast their ballots so far at the polls today, according to the Maricopa County Elections Department, including more than 25,000 in the past two hours.

12:34 p.m.

Voters at Brophy College Prep in Phoenix were greeted by promotional hand sanitizer and free meals.

STOP #2: Brophy College Prep. Here’s what it looks like. #ElectionDay pic.twitter.com/WXWhUswHOx

— Gabriel Gamiño, MA (@gaminogabriel) November 3, 2020

12:20 p.m.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs told KTAR News 92.3 FM there haven’t been any issues with voter suppression or intimidation at the polls.

“There certainly was a lot of chatter leading up to this election,” she said. “I think a lot of it was just that — just chatter designed to keep people from going out to vote.

“But that doesn’t seem to have been working, and we’re not really seeing anything actually going on today. We haven’t really had any reports of anything serious.”

11:15 a.m.

The Maricopa County Elections Department said more than 70,000 residents had cast their vote in person.

9:40 a.m.

The Maricopa County Elections Department said 51,700 had cast votes in person.

Wait times are varying around the Valley, from no waiting at Bell Canyon Pavilion on Bell Road near Interstate 17 and Burton Barr Library at Central Avenue and McDowell Road in Phoenix to 19 minutes at the Church at Lichtfield Park at Lichtfield Road near Wigwam Boulevard.

Voters at Surprise City Hall had a 33-minute wait, down from nearly 40 minutes an hour beforehand.

8:30 a.m.

Fontes said almost 36,000 had voted in person at the county’s 175 vote centers. The longest wait time was 39 minutes at Surprise City Hall, he said on The Mike Broomhead Show.

7:30 a.m.

The Maricopa County Elections Department reported more than 20,000 voters had showed up to cast their ballot in person.

6:30 a.m.

Nearly 600 people were in line at All Saints Lutheran Church near Seventh Street and Greenway Parkway in Phoenix, according to the Maricopa County Recorder’s website. About 20 minutes later, the line was considerably shorter at 250 and the wait time was expected to be about 37 minutes.

5:40 a.m.

Voters begin to line up at Glendale Christian Church, a polling location at 59th and Olive avenues.

Laura Sampsel said she waited until Tuesday to do her civic duty because, “It’s tradition – you vote on voting day.”

The military veteran said she was in and out of the room quickly.

5:30 a.m.

Erika Flores, deputy director of communications for the Maricopa County Elections Department in downtown Phoenix, said safety measures would be in place at the county’s vote centers, including drive-thru sites and secure drop boxes.

Poll workers will be wearing face shields, masks and gloves and voting sites will be continuously disinfected, especially high-touch areas.

“We’ll be offering masks and gloves to voters,” Flores told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

Busiest times generally are commuter hours and lunchtime, she said.

If voters are still in line when polls close, they’ll still be able to vote, “but they do have to in line by 7 p.m.,” Flores said.

Anyone who still has an early ballot needs to drop it off, signed and sealed, at a polling place, she added.

Tune to KTAR News 92.3 FM, online or our app on election night for coverage and analysis of the national, state and local results as they come in.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jim Cross, Ali Vetnar and Gabriel Gamiño contributed to this report.

Follow @KTAR923