Weekend wrap-up: Here are the biggest Arizona stories from Nov. 6-8
Nov 8, 2020, 6:00 PM
PHOENIX –Arizona politicians reacted to Democratic candidate Joe Biden being projected as the next president, coronavirus cases continue to rise and a lawsuit around ballots was filed in Maricopa County.
Here are some of the biggest stories that headlined the Arizona news cycle over the weekend.
Arizona politicians react to Joe Biden being projected to win White House
Arizona politicians reacted Saturday morning after Democrat Joe Biden was projected by the Associated Press to be the 46th president of the United States.
Democrat Senator Kyrsten Sinema released a statement saying the state voted in record-breaking numbers to support leaders who will heal the country’s divisions.
— Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema) November 7, 2020
The family of longtime Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain, widow Cindy and daughter Meghan, also tweeted their congratulations to Biden.
Congratulations to my dear friend and President-elect @JoeBiden Vice-President-elect @KamalaHarris. Its time to move beyond politics and toward building a stronger america. I know Joe will unify the country toward a better future.
— Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) November 7, 2020
Congratulations Mr. President! @JoeBiden – one of the truly decent and moral men I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. Please lead our nation bravely towards healing and bipartisanship. 🇺🇸♥️🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/k9oAPgvTfS
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) November 7, 2020
AP projects Joe Biden to unseat Donald Trump, become 46th US president
The Associated Press projected Saturday that Democrat Joe Biden has unseated Republican Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States.
The wire service called Pennsylvania in Biden’s favor, pushing the former vice president’s projected total above 270 electoral votes.
That total includes Arizona’s 11 electoral votes, although many have questioned whether the Grand Canyon State was called for Biden too early. Fox News and The Associated Press called Arizona for Biden on election night, but other media outlets are holding off while outstanding ballots continue to be counted.
A Biden victory makes Trump just the fourth one-term president in America’s history.
Arizona reports 1,880 new coronavirus cases, 17 deaths
Arizona health authorities reported 1,880 new coronavirus cases and 17 additional deaths on Sunday morning.
That put Arizona’s documented totals at 259,264 COVID-19 infections and 6,164 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
This week’s case count was the highest since the final week of July.
Arizona’s weekly percent positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic testing, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, has reached its highest level in two months.
Trump campaign, GOP file lawsuit regarding Maricopa County ballots
President Donald Trump’s campaign, the Republican National Committee and the Arizona Republican Party filed a lawsuit on Saturday regarding the counting of ballots within Maricopa County.
The lawsuit claims that poll center workers were incorrectly rejecting ballots cast in person on Election Day.
Numerous voters were alerted by the electronic tabulation machine that their ballot had a “facial irregularity” and were told by poll center workers to press a “green button” on the machine in order to override the issue, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleged voters that pushed the green button had their ballot cast without any additional inspection and “the machines disregarded the voter’s choices in the over-voted races.”
President-elect Joe Biden maintains Arizona lead over Donald Trump
President-elect Joe Biden maintained his lead over President Donald Trump in Arizona on Sunday, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s website.
In the latest update, Trump gained 2,999 votes but continued to trail Biden, who tallied an additional 3,753 votes. Biden continued to lead Trump 1,636,934 votes to 1,616,832 votes statewide.
The update included around 7,000 ballots reported by Maricopa County.
