Early voting in Arizona, a crucial battleground state, kicks off today, marking the first opportunity for residents to cast their ballots in person before Election Day at traditional polling places. The commencement of in-person voting has attracted the attention of the presidential campaigns, with both vice presidential candidates, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance, holding separate events in Tucson on Wednesday. Vice President Kamala Harris is set to host a rally in Phoenix on Thursday, while former President Donald Trump will visit Prescott Valley, a Republican stronghold north of Phoenix, on Sunday.
The nearly evenly split vote in Arizona’s 2020 election, with President Joe Biden winning by a slim margin of 10,457 votes, has fueled a wave of misinformation and conspiracy theories among Republicans questioning the validity of Biden’s victory. The aftermath has seen increased security measures at election offices to protect workers and polling volunteers from threats and harassment. In Maricopa County, which encompasses Phoenix, some schools have opted out of serving as polling locations due to safety concerns for workers.
Arizona has a history of high early voting turnout, with nearly 80% of voters casting their ballots before Election Day in 2020. Each of the state’s 15 counties must operate at least one in-person voting site, available until the Friday preceding the November 5 general election. Maricopa County, in particular, has established a network of a dozen voting centers across the metro Phoenix region.
As of late July, Arizona reported 4.1 million registered voters, a number likely to have increased as both political parties made efforts to boost registration leading up to the deadline earlier this week. While Arizona starts its in-person voting, other states have already commenced early voting, with Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, and Nevada set to begin next week.
Gabriel Sandoval, a correspondent for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative, contributed to this report as part of the nonprofit program that stations journalists in local newsrooms to cover underreported issues.
