When can Arizonans expect results in Tuesday's election? Why counting ballots takes time

Arizona voters can expect a first batch of unofficial election results in the presidential primary about an hour after the polls close on Tuesday, but full results are likely to take days.

State law gives county election officials until April 1 to wrap up counting for what officially is known as the presidential preference election.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are the presumptive nominees for the Democrats and Republicans, but they're not popular with everyone in their parties. That could send votes to some of their intraparty challengers, making their margins of victory an interesting side angle.

Results released first typically include early ballots cast by mail or dropped off before election day. Then, counties usually update results sporadically on election night as results roll in from polling places across the state.

In the days after the election, officials will count early ballots dropped off immediately before and on election day. Election staff will later process any ballots that require more investigation and follow-up, such as those with missing or mismatched signatures.

Why do results take time?

The more last-minute early ballots election officials receive, the longer it takes to count votes.

That's because early ballots need to be signature verified, separated from their signed affidavit envelope by a bipartisan team, and then tallied before they can be included in the results.

When a voter mails back or drops off their early ballot before election day, officials have time to take it through that process before the first round of results drops on election night.

But when voters drop off their ballot on election day, it can take officials a few days to get the ballot ready to be counted.

Provisional ballots, ballots in need of signature curing and ballots needing adjudication can also delay full unofficial results.

For example, a person showing up to vote without proper ID is allowed to cast a provisional ballot, but it isn't counted unless the voter returns within five calendar days with identification. By law, voters also have five calendar days to fix missing or mismatched signatures.

Sometimes, vote tallying machines can't read ballots if a voter didn't correctly fill it out or there are stray marks on the paper. That prompts a process called adjudication, in which bipartisan teams examine ballots to determine voter intent.

If the team can determine how a voter intended to cast their vote, it'll still count. But adjudication takes longer than counting with tabulators.

Where can I find election results?

You can find unofficial statewide results on election night at azcentral.com or on the Arizona Secretary of State's website.

Can I track my ballot status?

Yes, you can. Arizona voters can track their early ballots and check the status of their provisional ballots at the Arizona Voter Information Portal.

Maricopa County voters can track their ballots online on their voter dashboard at BeBallotReady.Vote.

Maricopa County voters can also text “JOIN” to 628683 to receive text notifications of when their ballot gets counted, verified and other details.

Sasha Hupka covers county government and election administration for The Arizona Republic. Do you have a tip to share on elections or voting? Reach her at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SashaHupka. Follow her on Instagram or Threads: @sashahupkasnaps.