Voter fatigue is real in Arizona after long, negative campaign season, political expert says

PHOENIX – Election Day is two weeks away, but it may seem longer in Arizona because of voter fatigue, a political expert said.

Early voting for the Nov. 8 midterms started Oct. 12, but voters in one of the nation’s top battleground states haven’t had time to catch their breath since the last general election.

“We’ve been at this for years, not just in this campaign cycle but talking about audits and elections in general,” Emily Ryan with Copper State Consulting in Phoenix said Monday.

“It’s all started to just bleed together, and voters are sick of talking about it.”

She points to record campaign spending on negative messaging that has soured many voters on the process.

Ryan said Arizona voters have been hammered for months by wall-to-wall campaign ads across every imaginable platform along with election propaganda.

“On top of that, you’ve got social media campaigns calling for polling drop box watchers and creating a lot of drama around something that should be functional and drama free,” Ryan said.

“Voters are not wanting to be part of it.”

The governorship, the secretary of state’s office and a race that could determine the balance of power in the United States Senate are in play but it could be days after the election until some of the races are finalized.

“Those that do vote are going to be disappointed because in some of the really big, close contentious races, we may not know for a week,” Ryan said.

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