August 04, 2022
Nearly 75,000 Additional Ballots Reported by Maricopa County
Maricopa County unofficial results have been updated for the August Primary Election.
Updated results show 790,516 voters cast a ballot, which represents 31.95 percent of total eligible voters. This is an additional 74,567 ballots reported. In addition, staff verified all remaining early ballots today, which will be sent on to ballot processing Friday.
Remaining ballots include:
Estimated number of early ballots left to signature verify: 0
Estimated number of uncured early ballots: 9,100
Estimated ballots left to process and tabulate: 69,600
Provisional ballots left to verify: 138
Valid provisional ballot and will be counted: 1,205
Invalid provisional ballot and will not be counted: 1,547
The Elections Department will do another update of unofficial results by 7 p.m. tomorrow. Staff continues to work on provisional ballots and the early ballots that need additional verification before they can be counted.
See results at Results.Maricopa.Vote.
Voters can track their early ballot online at BeBallotReady.Vote.
Results and Ballot Processing Primer
The Elections Department continues to process 122,000 early ballots dropped off at polling places on Election Day for tabulation. Some of the statutorily required efforts include:
Signature Verification & Ballot Processing
- 100% review — Trained staff verify each early ballot signature against the voter’s known signature on file.
- Curing – For signatures that are marked for additional review, election staff will contact the voter to confirm they signed their ballot. Voters have until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, August 9.
- Bipartisan Processing — Once verified, bipartisan processing teams of two remove the ballot from the return envelope and prepare it for tabulation.
- Timing — It can take to two days for a ballot to get through this process. Check your ballot status at BeBallotReady.Vote.
- Provisional Ballots — All provisional ballots are researched by voter registration staff to determine if they can be counted. Provisional ballots are issued to voters for a variety of reasons at the polls including if they already voted, are not registered to vote, or do not provide sufficient ID. A provisional ballot ensures eligible voters are not disenfranchised, as well as provide a safeguard against multiple ballots being cast by a voter. Voters do not to provide sufficient proof of identity are issued a conditional provisional ballot and must provide ID to the Recorder, Elections Department, or city/town clerk by 5 p.m. on August 9 before the ballot can be counted.
Tabulation
Once early ballots are signature verified and separated from their envelope, the ballots are tabulated with observers present on equipment that is not connected to the internet. In Maricopa County, we can count 110,000-140,000 ballots a day on average. When a contest has a write-in candidate or potential overvote, the equipment is programmed to send a digital image of that ballot to a bipartisan adjudication team of two to read the write-in candidate’s name and review and determine if the voter marked a true overvote.
Hand Count Audit
The political parties also conduct a Hand Count Audit of 1 percent early ballots randomly selected by political party observers and 2 percent of Vote Centers. The results of the hand count are compared to the tabulation results as another check on the ballot count. The Hand Count Audit occurs on the Saturday following the election. In 2020, the results were a 100 percent match.
Canvass
The Board of Supervisors will canvass the 2022 August Primary Election by August 16. The canvass is the full accounting on the vote, including counted and rejected ballots.