Live blog: Arizona goes to the polls for Election Day 2024

Programming note: Tune to KTAR News 92.3 FM or our app throughout Election Day 2024 for news, analysis and special guests.

PHOENIX — Voters across Arizona are filling out and dropping off ballots at polling places to make sure their voices are heard on Election Day 2024.

The polls opened Tuesday at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

The weather won’t be a deterrent for Valley voters on a perfect fall day. The forecast called for high temperatures in the low 70s with sunny skies and calm winds after morning lows of about 50 degrees.

This live blog will provide up-to-date news about how Arizona’s general election is progressing, from possible glitches, to activity at the polls to statements from officials and more.

10 p.m.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and former Phoenix City Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari, who left her seat to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, celebrated their Election Day victories at an Arizona Democratic watch party.

The initial ballot drop showed Ansari leading by 72.8%-25.2% over her Republican opponent Jeff Zink.

8 p.m.

The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office released the first batch of the state’s elections results.

More votes will still be counted, but these initial results provide valuable context for political analysts and voters.

For instance, they showed which of the 13 statewide ballot measures are passing.

They also showed Ruben Gallego leading Kari Lake, as well as Kamala Harris and Donald Trump being neck-and-neck.

On a more local level, the initial batch showed Jerry Sheridan leading Tyler Kamp in the race for Maricopa County sheriff.

Tim Stringham also held a slight lead over Justin Heap in the race to become Maricopa County’s next recorder.

Here are the latest election results for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

Additionally, Republican CD1 incumbent David Schweikert trailed Democratic opponent Amish Shah in the first round of ballots.

7:30 p.m.

The Navajo Nation won its lawsuit against Apache County, which meant that the hours of several polling locations were extended to be open until 9 p.m.

4:56 p.m.

Maricopa County Stephen Richer said the signatures of over 1.5 million ballot packets have been verified.

4:00 p.m.

Polls in a few Indiana districts across the state and polls on the eastern side of Kentucky are the first to close in the nation.

2024 Election results can be seen here.

3:05 p.m.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes provided an update on the Election Day issues in Apache County.

He save further later corroborated this situation, giving further information

“There has been an e-pollbook and a printer problem,” Fontes said in a 3 p.m. update. “Now, this is countywide; it doesn’t only exist on the reservations in Apache County.”

Technical teams were out in the field working to resolve these issues, he added.

“Most of the sites in Apache County are up and running well. As we understand at this moment, there are still some residual issues out in Apache County,” Fontes said.

3 p.m.

There were unsubstantiated reports of bomb threats at four specific voting locations in Navajo County, according to ABC15.

“We have no reason to believe any voters or polling places are in jeopardy,” Fontes said during a news conference.

1 p.m.

As of the halfway point of Election Day voting, 127,000 voters had checked into a Maricopa County vote center, the county said.

Voting picked up on college campuses in metro Phoenix during the noon hour. For example, the wait was over 40 minutes at Mesa Community College just after 1 p.m. At the same time, it was nearly 20 minutes at the ASU Sun Devil Fitness Center in Tempe and Estrella Mountain Community College in Avondale.

However, there was little or no wait at many of the Valley’s 240-plus vote centers.

Maricopa County voters can cast their in-person ballot at any vote center until the polls close. Locations.Maricopa.Vote has in interactive map with locations and up-to-date wait times.

Noon

Phoenix-area voters who want to reduce the chance of waiting in a long line should get to a vote center in the next few hours, authorities said.

Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates said earlier Tuesday that the busiest time for Election Day voting is usually from 4 p.m. until the polls close at 7 p.m.

Voters can visit Locations.Maricopa.Vote to find locations and wait times.

“Just one thing to keep in mind: If you get into line at 7 p.m., you will have the opportunity to vote. No matter how long that line is, stay in line and and go ahead and vote,” Gates said at a late-morning press conference.

11:05 a.m.

Social media reports indicating that some Maricopa County vote centers have been closed due to printer issues are untrue, Supervisor Bill Gates said during a press conference.

“We are out there going ahead and servicing the printers as we normally would if there are issues where … we need to update the toner, but there have been no vote centers that have been shut down. Things are moving very smoothly out there today,” he said.

About 93,000 in-person voters checked in at one the county’s 240-plus vote centers by 11 a.m., Gates said.

10:30 a.m.

Navajo Nation President Buu Van Nygren said voting machines in Apache County were down.

“Some voters are being turned away without casting a ballot in the federal and state elections,” Nygren said in an Instagram post.

10 a.m.

The Maricopa County Elections Department said that about 75,000 voters had checked in within four hours of the polls opening on Election Day 2024.

Officials are expecting 300,000-375,000 in-person voters Tuesday.

9 a.m.

Two of Arizona’s 650 polling locations opened a little late Tuesday morning, the only early glitches reported on Election Day, according to Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.

But they were all open by 6:20 a.m., Fontes said during a livestreamed press conference.

In Maricopa County, somebody forgot to bring a key to one vote center. In addition, a Mohave County location briefly lost power, delaying its opening, Fontes said.

“As far as I know right now, everything in the state of Arizona is running about as smoothly as it could be,” he said.

7:20 a.m.

Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman said 20,000 voters checked in at one of the Valley’s 240-plus vote centers in the first hour of Election Day 2024.

He said the average wait time was about four minutes and the longest was 20 minutes.

“We’ve been telling everybody [to] come with a great attitude. There’s already enough agitation in the world,” Hickman told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News. “Celebrate what this day brings. Enjoy the line just like you would if you were getting Taylor Swift tickets or those new shoes or the whatever video game. Be happy that you’re there. We’re all citizens, we’re all patriots today.”

6:48 a.m.

The early Election Day voting pace was brisk at Church of the Beatitudes in Phoenix.

“I’ve come here every year … to vote here, and I’ve never seen it like this before” voter Emily Flores told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

pic.twitter.com/oW9AO4TrVP

— Jim Cross (@Crossfire923) November 5, 2024

Flores said she based her voting decisions on more than one issue, including the economy, education and women’s rights.

“Being a female having a daughter. I have five sisters, too. And I have six nieces and they’re all college age or younger. So yeah, that’s huge,” she said.

6:44 a.m.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said he isn’t seeing any problems in the early stages of Election Day 2024 voting.

He said his office is maintaining contact with election operations in all 15 counties.

“We’ve taken all the precautions necessary, some would argue we went overboard with some of our precautions, but we’re going to make sure that we’ve got everything we need, the communications lines and some backup plans, just in case there are issues,” Fontes told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News.

Fontes reminded voters that as long as they are in line by 7 p.m., they are allowed to vote, no matter how long it takes.

6 a.m.

The polls opened, with more than 240 vote centers across metro Phoenix, for Election Day 2024. Visit Locations.Maricopa.Vote to find an interactive map with locations and wait times.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jim Cross contributed to this report.

The calm before the storm here at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center.#ElectionDay @KTAR923 @AZMorningNews pic.twitter.com/oOtdUKAFzB

— Colton Krolak (@ColtonKrolak) November 5, 2024

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