In the copper state of Arizona, Trump and Harris in a close race by 11 electoral votes

Arizona voters have no shortage of competitive races to decide in the Nov. 5 general election, with control of the White House, the U.S. Senate and House and both houses of the state Legislature.

Arizona remains a major electoral battleground four years after President Joe Biden became the second Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state in nearly 70 years. It is one of four Sun Belt states in the nation that has focused much of the focus of both presidential campaigns on the final sprint to Election Day.

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump are in a tight race for the state’s 11 electoral votes. They and their running mates have made several campaign stops there since securing their parties’ nominations over the summer.

Other competitive contests include the U.S. Senate race, where Democrat Ruben Gallego and Republican Kari Lake are running to replace outgoing independent U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, and two Republican-held U.S. House seats in Phoenix and Tucson districts that both went for Biden in the year. 2020

In the state legislature, Democrats hope to take control of the state Senate for the first time since 1992 and the state House for the first time since 1966, the last time the party controlled the governorship and both chambers simultaneously

Voters will also decide high-profile statewide ballot measures on abortion, immigration and two competing ballot measures that would require or eliminate the use of partisan primaries in state elections. Under the state constitution, if two conflicting ballot measures pass, the one with the most votes would become law, although the matter would likely go to court first.

Here’s a look at what to expect in the 2024 Arizona election:

• Election Day: November 5.
• Poll closing time: 9 pm ET. Arizona does not release votes until all precincts have reported or one hour after all polls are closed, whichever comes first, usually 10:00 PM ET.
• Presidential Electoral Votes: 11 awarded to statewide winners.

Key races and candidates:

• Speaker: Harris (D) vs. Trump (R) vs. Chase Oliver (Libertarian) vs. Jill Stein (green).
• US Senate: Ruben Gallego (D) vs. Kari Lake (R) and another.
• 1st Congressional District: Amish Shah (D) vs. David Schweikert (R).
• 6th Congressional District: Kirsten Engel (D) vs. Juan Ciscomani (R) and another.
• Ballot measures: Proposition 133 (require partisan primaries), Proposition 139 (abortion rights), Proposition 140 (eliminate partisan primaries), Proposition 314 (criminal penalties for illegal immigration).
• Other careers of interest: State Senate, State House, Corporation Commissioner.

Decision notes

In Arizona, ballots cast and processed before Election Day are the first to be reported after the polls close. These polls have tended to favor Democrats since the issue of early and mail-in voting became highly politicized during the 2020 election. In the 2022 U.S. Senate election, Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly began the night with a nearly 20-point lead over Republican Blake Masters, but the victory narrowed to about 5 points when the results were certified.

Mail-in ballots that are delivered on Election Day take much longer to tabulate because poll workers don’t begin processing or verifying them until after the polls close. In Maricopa County, which has the state’s largest population, about 20 percent of the nearly 1.6 million votes cast in 2022 were mail-in ballots delivered on Election Day.

Maricopa County is by far the most influential of the state’s 15 counties in state elections. It is home to Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa and contributed nearly 62% of the vote in the 2020 presidential race. Pima County was a distant second with 15% of the vote.

In state elections going back a dozen years, Democrats have always carried four counties in winning and losing campaigns: Apache, Coconino, Pima and Santa Cruz. In each of those races, the candidate carrying Maricopa won statewide. Maricopa is also one of 10 counties in the seven battleground states that went from Trump to Biden.

The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it has determined there is no scenario that allows the trailing candidates to close the gap.

If no race has been called, the AP will continue to cover any major news, such as candidate concessions or victory declarations. In doing so, the PA will make it clear that it has not declared a winner and explain why.

In Arizona, recounts are automatic if the vote margin is 0.5% of the total vote or less. The PA may declare a winner of a race eligible for a recount if it can determine that the lead is too great for a recount or legal challenge to change the result.

Previous presidential results

2020: Biden (D) 49.4%, Trump (R) 49.1% AP Call: Wednesday, November 4, 2020, 2:51 am ET.

Voter registration and participation

• Registered voters: 4,109,270 (as of July 30, 2024). About 29% Democrats, about 35% Republicans, about 36% other.
• Voter turnout in the 2020 presidential election: 71% of registered voters.

Voting prior to election day

• Votes cast before Election Day 2020: approximately 89% of total votes cast.
• Votes cast before Election Day 2022: About 82% of total votes cast.

How long does the vote count take?

• First reported votes, November 3, 2020: 10:02 PM ET.
• At midnight ET: About 72% of the total votes cast were reported.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency – Associated Press)